I offer this post as a comedic contrast to my previous and more serious post on “Cosmos,” Carl
Sagan’s probing and deep look into man’s relation to the Universe. Douglas Adam’s presents a
lighter side of this topic in “his Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.”

This is the book that spawned the BBC television series of the same name and later a movie. I
remember the television program, an irreverent parody of science fiction done in the offbeat and
whacky Monty Python style. Listening to this book some thirty five years after it was published, I
was astonished to discover how contemporary the story is. Yes, great humor is timeless but
even more so, “The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” still has relevant messages about life
that are brilliantly comic and absurdly profound.

What amazed me most was the mind of Douglas Adams, a fascinating and often troubled
creative soul who left this world before he was fifty years old. For all its seeming craziness, The
Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is surprisingly deep in philosophical observation and
wonderfully complete in its multi-dimensional story telling.

This is a short book, full of fun and humorously posed life questions. I found it both mentally
refreshing and laughingly enjoyable. It was a real treat to listen to a writing genius at play.
Here’s a link to a free audio book version on YouTube:

Enjoy!

You might also enjoy: Cosmos, We Are Made of Star Stuff, Nightwalk