This is the first of five books in the “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” comedy science fiction series by Douglas Adams. The novel was first published in London in 1979. It sold 250,000 copies in the first three months.

If you’re one of those people who like dry, satire-style humor and imaginative science fiction, this is the book for you.

The book begins with city council workmen arriving at Arthur Dent’s house. They wish to demolish* his house in order to build a bypass*. Arthur’s best friend, Ford Prefect, arrives, warning him of the end of the world. Ford is revealed to be an alien who had come to Earth to research it for the titular “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” an enormous work providing information about every planet and place in the universe. The two head to a pub, where the locals question Ford’s knowledge of the Apocalypse*.

An alien race, known as Vogons, show up to demolish Earth in order to build a bypass for an intergalactic highway. Arthur and Ford manage to get onto the Vogon ship just before Earth is demolished.

This book is easy to read and is a humorous take on space and time travel. It follows a normal guy who unknowingly befriends* an alien hitchhiker and is taken along on some entertaining journeys through space. They go to other universes, meet interesting characters, discover futuristic technology, and discover the answer to the universe.

The book is availabe at online bookstores.

(SD-Agencies)