Douglas Adams
Douglas Adams signing books at ApacheCon 2000
Born	11 March 1952(1952-03-11) Cambridge, England
Died	11 May 2001 (aged 49) Santa Barbara, California, U.S.
Occupation	writer
Genres	Science fiction, Comedy
Influences Richard Dawkins,[1] Monty Python, Neil Gaiman, Robert Sheckley, Kurt Vonnegut, P. G. Wodehouse
Official website http://www.douglasadams.com/

Douglas Noël Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author, comic radio dramatist, and musician. Events 1425 BC - Thutmose III, Pharaoh of Egypt, dies (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty Year 1952 ( MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The city of Cambridge (ˈkeɪmbrɪdʒ is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Events 330 - Byzantium is renamed ''Nova Roma'' during a dedication ceremony but is more popularly referred to as Constantinople Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Santa Barbara is a city in Santa Barbara County California, United States. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Employment is a Contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. A literary genre is a category of literary composition Genres may be determined by Literary technique, tone, Content, or even (as in the case of fiction Comedy (from the Greek κωμωδίαkomodia has a popular meaning (any discourse generally intended to amuse especially in Television, Film, and Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL (born 26 March 1941 is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist, and Popular science Monty Python (sometimes known as The Pythons) is the collective name of the six creators of Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British Television Neil Richard Gaiman (ˈgeɪmən (born November 10, 1960) is an English author of Science fiction and Fantasy short stories and Robert Sheckley ( July 16, 1928 &ndash December 9, 2005) was a Hugo and Nebula nominated American author Kurt Vonnegut Jr (November 11 1922 – April 11 2007 (ˈvɒnəgət was a prolific and genre-bending American Novelist known for works blending Satire, Black Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE (15 October 1881 – 14 February 1975 (ˈwʊdhaʊs was an English Comic novelist who enjoyed enormous popular success Events 1425 BC - Thutmose III, Pharaoh of Egypt, dies (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty Year 1952 ( MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 330 - Byzantium is renamed ''Nova Roma'' during a dedication ceremony but is more popularly referred to as Constantinople Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Radio drama is a form of audio storytelling broadcast on radio. He is best known as the author of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy series Hitchhiker's began on radio, and developed into a "trilogy" of five books (which sold more than fifteen million copies during his lifetime) as well as a television series, a comic book series, a computer game, and a feature film that was completed after Adams' death. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, was a BBC television adaptation of Douglas Adams 's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy broadcast in January The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is an Interactive fiction Computer game based on the seminal comic Science fiction series of the The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy film based on the book of the same name by Douglas Adams. The series has also been adapted for live theatre using various scripts; the earliest such productions used material newly written by Adams. ^[2] He was known to some fans as Bop Ad (after his illegible signature), or by his initials DNA. ^[3]

In addition to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams wrote or co-wrote three stories of the science fiction television series Doctor Who and served as Script Editor during the seventeenth season. Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. His other written works include the Dirk Gently novels, and he co-wrote two Liff books and Last Chance to See, itself based on a radio series. Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency is a novel by Douglas Adams. The Meaning of Liff (UK Edition ISBN 0-330-28121-6 US Edition ISBN 0-517-55347-3 is a humorous Dictionary of Toponomy and Etymology, The book Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine was first published in 1990, as a companion to the BBC Adams also originated the idea for the computer game Starship Titanic, which was produced by a company that Adams co-founded, and adapted into a novel by Terry Jones. Starship Titanic is a Computer game designed by Douglas Adams and made by The Digital Village. For other uses see Terry Jones (disambiguation. Terence Graham Parry Jones (born 1 February 1942) is a Welsh A posthumous collection of essays and other material, including an incomplete novel, was published as The Salmon of Doubt in 2002. The Salmon of Doubt Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time is a posthumous collection of previously unpublished material by Douglas Adams.

His fans and friends also knew Adams as an environmental activist, a self-described 'radical atheist', and a lover of fast cars, cameras, the Macintosh computer, and other 'techno gizmos'. Antitheism (sometimes anti-theism) is active opposition to Theism. Macintosh, commonly nicknamed Mac is a Brand name which covers several lines of Personal computers designed developed and marketed by Apple Inc The biologist Richard Dawkins dedicated his book The God Delusion to Douglas Adams and in it described how Adams came to understand evolution, consequently becoming an atheist. Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL (born 26 March 1941 is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist, and Popular science The God Delusion is a 2006 bestselling non-fiction book by British biologist Richard Dawkins, holder of the Charles Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding eVolution is the third Album by eLDee, it was due to be released in 2008 Douglas was a keen technologist, writing about such topics as e-mail and Usenet before they became widely known. A technologist is a specialist that is trained to perform work in a field of Technology. Usenet, a Portmanteau of "user" and "network" is a world-wide distributed Internet discussion system Toward the end of his life he was a sought-after lecturer on topics including technology and the environment.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Education and early works 3 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy 4 Doctor Who 5 Music 5.1 Pink Floyd 5.2 Procol Harum 5.3 Other musical links 6 Computer games and projects 7 Dirk Gently series 8 Personal beliefs 8.1 Atheism and view on religion 8.1.1 Sentient puddle 8.2 Environmental activism 8.3 Technology 9 Personal life 10 Death 11 Biographies 12 Works 12.1 Novels in the Hitchhiker series 12.2 Dirk Gently series 12.3 Other books 12.4 Other works 12.5 Tributes and honorifics 13 See also 14 Notes 15 External links

Early life

Douglas Adams was born to Janet Adams (née Donovan, and now known as Janet Thrift) and Christopher Douglas Adams in Cambridge, England. The city of Cambridge (ˈkeɪmbrɪdʒ is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland His parents had one other child together, Susan, who was born in March 1955. His parents separated and divorced in 1957, and Douglas, Susan, and Janet moved in with Janet's parents, the Donovans, in Brentwood, Essex. Brentwood is a town and the principal settlement of the Borough of Brentwood, part of Essex in England. Douglas' grandmother kept her house as an official RSPCA refuge for hurt animals, which "exacerbated young Douglas' hayfever and asthma. This article is about the original RSPCA in England and Wales Hay Fever is a comic play written by Noel Coward in 1924 and first produced in 1925 with Marie Tempest as the first Judith Bliss Asthma is a chronic Condition involving the Respiratory system in which the airways occasionally constrict become inflamed, and are "^[4]

Christopher Adams remarried in July 1960, to Mary Judith Stewart (born Judith Robertson). From this marriage, Douglas Adams had a half-sister, Heather. Janet remarried in 1964, to a veterinarian, Ron Thrift, providing two more half-siblings to Douglas; Jane and James Thrift.

Education and early works

Adams attended Primrose Hill Primary School in Brentwood. He took the exams and interview for Brentwood School at six, and attended the preparatory school from 1959 to 1964, then the main school until 1970. Brentwood School is a public school in Brentwood Essex, England. In English language usage in the former British Empire, the present-day Commonwealth, a preparatory school (usually abbreviated to prep school He was in the top stream, and specialised in the arts in the sixth form, after which he stayed an extra term in a seventh form class, customary in the school for those preparing for Oxbridge entrance exams. Oxbridge was originally a fictional composite of the University of '''Ox'''ford and the University of Cam'''bridge''' in England, and the term is now

While at prep school, his English teacher, Frank Halford, reportedly awarded Adams the only ten out of ten of his teaching career for creative writing. ^[5] Adams remembered this for the rest of his life, especially when facing writer's block. Writer's block is a Phenomenon involving temporary loss of ability to begin or continue writing usually due to lack of inspiration or Creativity. ^[6] Some of Adams' earliest writing was published at the school, such as a report on the school's photography club in The Brentwoodian (in 1962) or spoof reviews in the school magazine Broadsheet (edited by Paul Neil Milne Johnstone). Paul Neil Milne Johnstone (c 1952 -April 2004 was a British poet

Adams also had a letter and short story published nationally in the UK in The Eagle, the boys' comic, in 1965. He met Griff Rhys Jones, who was in the year below, at school, and was in the same class as Stuckist artist Charles Thomson; all three appeared together in a production of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar in 1968. Griffith Rhys Jones (born 6th November or 16th November (depending on source speakers agent (6th or BBC (16th 1953 in Cardiff, Wales Charles Thomson (born February 6, 1953) is an English Artist, painter, Poet, Photographer. Adams was six feet tall (1. 83 m) by 12 and he stopped growing at 6'5" (1. 96 m). Later, he made jokes about his towering stature, ". . . the form-master wouldn't say 'Meet under the clock tower,' or 'Meet under the war memorial,' but 'Meet under Adams. '"^[7]

On the strength of a bravura essay on religious poetry that discussed the Beatles along with William Blake, he was awarded a place at St John's College, Cambridge to read English, entering in 1971. The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960 William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827 was an English poet, painter, and Printmaker. St John's College, an institution known formally as The Master Fellows and Scholars of the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge is a The University of Cambridge (often Cambridge University) located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the ^[8] Adams attempted to get into the Footlights Dramatic Club, with which several other names in British comedy had been affiliated. Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club, commonly referred to simply as the Footlights, is an amateur theatrical club in Cambridge England, run by the students British Comedy, in Film, Radio and Television, is known for its consistently quirky characters plots and settings and has produced some of the most He was turned down, and started to write and perform in revues with Will Adams (no relation) and Martin Smith, forming a group called "Adams-Smith-Adams. Martin Smith may be the name of Martin Smith (designer (born 1949 automobile designer Martin Smith (songwriter (born 1970 lead singer " Later, in another attempt to join Footlights, Adams was encouraged by Simon Jones and found himself working with Rhys Jones, among others. Simon Jones (born 27 July 1950) is an English Actor, most famous for his appearances in the Television and Radio series In 1974, Adams graduated with a B. A. in English literature. The term English literature refers to Literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by Writers not necessarily from

Some of his early work appeared on BBC2 (television) in 1974, in an edited version of the Footlights Revue from Cambridge, that year. A version of the revue performed live in London's West End led to Adams being discovered by Monty Python's Graham Chapman. The West End of London is an area of Central London, England, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions businesses headquarters and the commercial Monty Python (sometimes known as The Pythons) is the collective name of the six creators of Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British Television Graham Arthur Chapman (8 January 1941 &ndash 4 October 1989 was an English Comedian, Actor, Writer, Physician and one of the The two formed a brief writing partnership, and Adams earned a writing credit in one episode (episode 45: "Party Political Broadcast on Behalf of the Liberal Party") of Monty Python's Flying Circus for a sketch called "Patient Abuse". Monty Python’s Flying Circus (also known as Flying Circus or during the final series just Monty Python) is a BBC Sketch comedy Patient Abuse is a sketch from the final episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus. In the sketch, a man who had been stabbed by a nurse arrives at his doctor's office bleeding from the stomach. The doctor asks him to fill out numerous senseless forms before he will administer treatment (a joke later incorporated into the Vogons' obsession with paperwork). This is a list of races fauna and flora (as well as creatures without category featured in various incarnations of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Adams also contributed to a sketch on the album for Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Monty Python and the Holy Grail is a 1975 film written and performed by the comedy group Monty Python ( Graham Chapman, John Cleese

Douglas had two brief appearances in the fourth series of Monty Python's Flying Circus. At the beginning of episode 42, "The Light Entertainment War", Adams is in a surgeon's mask (as Dr Emile Koning, according to on-screen captions), pulling on gloves, while Michael Palin narrates a sketch that introduces one person after another but never actually gets started. Michael Edward Palin, CBE (born 5 May 1943 is an English Comedian, actor writer and Television presenter best known for being one of the members At the beginning of episode 44, "Mr Neutron", Adams is dressed in a "pepperpot" outfit and loads a missile on to a cart driven by Terry Jones, who is calling for scrap metal ("Any old iron. Pepperpot is a term created by Monty Python member Graham Chapman to describe a class of character frequently appearing in the group's comedy sketches For other uses see Terry Jones (disambiguation. Terence Graham Parry Jones (born 1 February 1942) is a Welsh . . "). The two episodes were broadcast in November 1974. Adams and Chapman also attempted non-Python projects, including Out of the Trees. Out of the Trees was a television sketch show pilot written by Graham Chapman, Douglas Adams and Bernard McKenna and broadcast

Some of Adams' early radio work included sketches for The Burkiss Way in 1977 and The News Huddlines. The Burkiss Way is a BBC Radio 4 sketch Comedy series that was broadcast from August 1976 to November 1980 The News Huddlines was a long-running BBC Radio 2 topical comedy Sketch show starring Roy Hudd that ran for fifty one series from He also wrote, again with Graham Chapman, the 20 February 1977 episode of Doctor on the Go, a sequel to the Doctor in the House television comedy series. Events 1472 - Orkney and Shetland are left by Norway to Scotland, due to a Dowry payment Also 1977 (album by Ash. Year 1977 ( MCMLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays Doctor in the House is a British television comedy series based on a set of books and a movie of the same name by Richard Gordon about the misadventures

As Adams had difficulty selling jokes and stories, he took a series of odd jobs . A biography from an early edition of one of the HHGG novels says:

After graduation he spent several years contributing material to radio and television shows as well as writing, performing, and sometimes directing stage revues in London, Cambridge and at the Edinburgh Fringe. A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical Entertainment that combines Music, dance and sketches. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. The Edinburgh Fringe (officially the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, commonly just The Fringe) is the world’s largest Arts festival. He has also worked at various times as a hospital porter, barn builder, chicken shed cleaner, bodyguard, radio producer and script editor of Doctor Who. A radio producer oversees the making of a Radio show The producer may organize callers for talkback radio line up music organize show content etc A script editor is a member of the production team of scripted Television programmes usually dramas and comedies Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC.

Adams worked as a bodyguard in the mid-1970s. He was employed by an Qatar Arab family which had made its fortune in oil. Qatar ( قطر; ˈqɑtˁɑr local pronunciation giṭar officially the State of Qatar (Arabic دولة قطر transliterated ^[9] He had anecdotes about the job: one story related that the family once ordered one of everything from a hotel's menu, tried all the dishes, and sent out for hamburgers. Another story had to do with a prostitute sent to the floor Adams was guarding one evening. They acknowledged each other as she entered, and an hour later, when she left, she is said to have remarked, "At least you can read while you're on the job. "^[10]

In 1979, Adams and John Lloyd wrote scripts for two half-hour episodes of Doctor Snuggles: "The Remarkable Fidgety River" and "The Great Disappearing Mystery" (episodes seven and twelve). John Hardress Wilfred Lloyd (born 30 September 1951) is a British comedy writer and television producer Doctor Snuggles is an Animated series about a friendly and optimistic inventor named Doctor Snuggles who has unusual adventures with his friends in a slightly John Lloyd was also co-author of two episodes from the original "Hitchhiker" radio series (Fit the Fifth and Fit the Sixth (also known as Episodes Five and Six, see explanation below)), as well as The Meaning of Liff and The Deeper Meaning of Liff. The Meaning of Liff (UK Edition ISBN 0-330-28121-6 US Edition ISBN 0-517-55347-3 is a humorous Dictionary of Toponomy and Etymology, The Meaning of Liff (UK Edition ISBN 0-330-28121-6 US Edition ISBN 0-517-55347-3 is a humorous Dictionary of Toponomy and Etymology, Lloyd and Adams also collaborated on an SF movie comedy project based on The Guinness Book of World Records, which would have starred John Cleese as the UN Secretary General, and had a race of aliens beating humans in athletic competitions, but the humans winning in all of the "absurd" record categories. Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records (and in previous U John Marwood Cleese (ˈkliːz born 27 October, 1939) is a British Actor, Comedian, Writer, Film producer This latter project never proceeded past a treatment. In a 1996 interview for SFX Magazine, Adams described John Lloyd as a "comedy producer par excellence. . . one of the people I love spending time with, because he's so damn funny".

After the first radio series of The Hitchhiker's Guide became successful, Adams was made a BBC radio producer, working on Week Ending and a pantomime called Black Cinderella Two Goes East. Week Ending was a satirical radio current affairs sketch show first broadcast on BBC Radio 4, usually on Friday evenings Pantomime (informally panto) (not to be confused with a Mime artist, referring to a theatrical performer of mime is a performance genre traditionally found Black Cinderella Two Goes East (sometimes referred to as Black Cinderella II Goes East) was a radio Pantomime broadcast on BBC Radio 4 He left the position after six months to become the script editor for Doctor Who. Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Main article: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was a concept for a science-fiction comedy radio series pitched by Adams and radio producer Simon Brett to BBC Radio 4 in 1977. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy series Simon Brett (born 28 October 1945 in Worcester Park, Surrey, England) is a prolific writer of Whodunnits Brett worked for BBC Radio Adams came up with an outline for a pilot episode, as well as a few other stories (reprinted in Neil Gaiman's book Don't Panic: The Official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Companion) that could potentially be used in the series. Neil Richard Gaiman (ˈgeɪmən (born November 10, 1960) is an English author of Science fiction and Fantasy short stories and Don't Panic The Official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Companion is a book by Neil Gaiman about Douglas Adams and The Hitchhiker's Guide to

According to Adams, the idea for the title The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy occurred to him while he lay drunk in a field in Innsbruck, Austria (though he joked that the BBC would instead claim it was Spain "probably because it's easier to spell"^[11]), gazing at the stars. Innsbruck is the capital city of the federal state of Tyrol in western Austria. He had been wandering the countryside while carrying a book called the Hitch-hiker's Guide to Europe when he ran into a town where, as he humorously describes, everyone was either "deaf" and "dumb" or only spoke languages he could not understand. The Hitch-hiker's Guide to Europe (ISBN 0-8128-1446-0 was a guide book copyright 1971 by Ken Welsh and first published that year in the UK by After wandering around and drinking for a while, he went to sleep in the middle of a field and was inspired by his inability to communicate with the townspeople. He later said that due to his constantly retelling this story of inspiration, he no longer had any memory of the moment of inspiration itself, and only remembered his retellings of that moment. A postscript to M. J. Simpson's biography of Adams, Hitchhiker: A Biography of Douglas Adams, provides evidence that the story was in fact a fabrication and that Adams had conceived the idea some time after his trip around Europe. Hitchhiker is a biography of comedy science-fiction writer and creator of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams, who lived from

Despite the original outline, Adams was said to make up the stories as he wrote. He turned to John Lloyd for help with the final two episodes of the first series. John Hardress Wilfred Lloyd (born 30 September 1951) is a British comedy writer and television producer The terms Primary Phase and Secondary Phase describe the first two radio series of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Lloyd contributed bits from an unpublished science fiction book of his own, called GiGax. ^[12] However, very little of Lloyd's material survived in later adaptations of Hitchhiker's, such as the novels and the TV series. The TV series itself was based on the first six radio episodes, but sections contributed by Lloyd were largely re-written.

BBC Radio 4 broadcast the first radio series weekly in the UK in March and April 1978. Following the success of the first series, another episode was recorded and broadcast, which was commonly known as the Christmas Episode. A second series of five episodes was broadcast one per night, during the week of 21 January - 25 January 1980. The terms Primary Phase and Secondary Phase describe the first two radio series of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Events 1189 - Philip II of France and Richard I of England begin to assemble troops to wage the Third Crusade. Events 41 - After a night of negotiation Claudius is accepted as Roman Emperor by the Senate Year 1980 ( MCMLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar)

While working on the radio series (and with simultaneous projects such as The Pirate Planet) Adams developed problems keeping to writing deadlines that only got worse as he published novels. The Pirate Planet is a serial in the British Science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in Adams was never a prolific writer and usually had to be forced by others to do any writing. This included being locked in a hotel suite with his editor for three weeks to ensure that So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish was completed. So Long and Thanks for All the Fish ( 1984, ISBN 0-345-39183-7 is the fourth book of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series written ^[13] He was quoted as saying, "I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by. "^[14] Despite the difficulty with deadlines, Adams eventually authored five novels in the series, published in 1979, 1980, 1982, 1984 and 1992.

The books formed the basis for other adaptations, such as three-part comic book adaptations for each of the first three books, an interactive text-adventure computer game, and a photo-illustrated edition, published in 1994. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is an Interactive fiction Computer game based on the seminal comic Science fiction series of the This latter edition featured a 42 Puzzle designed by Adams, which was later incorporated into paperback covers of the first four "Hitchhiker's" novels (the paperback for the fifth re-used the artwork from the hardcover edition). The 42 Puzzle is a game devised by Douglas Adams in 1994 for the United States series of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books ^[15]

In 1980, Adams also began attempts to turn the first Hitchhiker's novel into a movie, making several trips to Los Angeles, California, and working with a number of Hollywood studios and potential producers. Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West The next year, 1981, the radio series became the basis for a BBC television mini-series "The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy" broadcast in six parts. When he died in 2001 in California, he had been trying again to get the movie project started with Disney, which had bought the rights in 1998. The screenplay finally got a posthumous re-write by Karey Kirkpatrick, was green-lit in September 2003, and the resulting movie was released in 2005. Karey Kirkpatrick (born c 1970 is a Screenwriter. His films include James and the Giant Peach, Chicken Run, Curious George The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy film based on the book of the same name by Douglas Adams.

Radio producer Dirk Maggs had consulted with Adams, first in 1993, and later in 1997 and 2000 about creating a third radio series, based on the third novel in the Hitchhiker's series. Dirk Maggs is a freelance writer and director working across all media ^[16] They also vaguely discussed the possibilities of radio adaptations of the final two novels in the five-book "trilogy. " As with the movie, this project was only realised after Adams' death. The third series, The Tertiary Phase, was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2004 and was subsequently released on audio CD. The Tertiary Phase, Quandary Phase and Quintessential Phase are radio adaptations of the books Life the Universe and Everything With the aid of a recording of his reading of Life, the Universe and Everything and editing, Douglas Adams himself can be heard playing the part of Agrajag posthumously. So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish and Mostly Harmless made up the fourth and fifth radio series, respectively (on radio they were titled The Quandary Phase and The Quintessential Phase) and these were broadcast in May and June of 2005, and also subsequently released on Audio CD. The Tertiary Phase, Quandary Phase and Quintessential Phase are radio adaptations of the books Life the Universe and Everything The Tertiary Phase, Quandary Phase and Quintessential Phase are radio adaptations of the books Life the Universe and Everything The last episode in the last series (with a new, "more upbeat" ending) concluded with, "The very final episode of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams is affectionately dedicated to its author. "^[17]

More recently, the film makers at Smoov Filmz adapted the anecdote that Arthur Dent relates about biscuits in So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish into a short film called "Cookies. For the Australian political activist see Albert Langer Arthur Philip Dent is a Fictional character, the hapless Protagonist So Long and Thanks for All the Fish ( 1984, ISBN 0-345-39183-7 is the fourth book of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series written "^[18] Adams also discussed the real-life episode that inspired the anecdote in a 2001 speech, reprinted in his posthumous collection The Salmon of Doubt. The Salmon of Doubt Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time is a posthumous collection of previously unpublished material by Douglas Adams. He also told the story on the radio programme It Makes Me Laugh on 19 July 1981. Events 711 - Muslim forces under Tariq ibn Ziyad defeat the Visigoths led by their king Roderic. Year 1981 ( MCMLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981

Doctor Who

Main article: Doctor Who

Adams sent the script for the HHGG pilot radio programme to the Doctor Who production office in 1978, and was commissioned to write The Pirate Planet (see below). Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The Pirate Planet is a serial in the British Science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in He had also previously attempted to submit a potential movie script, called "Doctor Who and the Krikkitmen," which later became his novel Life, the Universe and Everything (which in turn became the third Hitchhiker's Guide radio series). Adams then went on to serve as script editor on the show for its seventeenth season in 1979. Altogether, he wrote three Doctor Who serials starring Tom Baker as the Doctor:

• The Pirate Planet (the second serial in the "Key To Time" arc, in Season 16)
• City of Death (with producer Graham Williams, from an original storyline by writer David Fisher. This is a list of Doctor Who television serials and episodes. Thomas Stewart "Tom" Baker (born 20 January 1934 is an English Actor. In both the original run and since the 2005 revival long-running British science fiction television programme Doctor Who has featured a number This is a list of Doctor Who television serials and episodes. City of Death is a serial in the British Science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four Graham Williams was a British Television producer and Script editor, whose best known work was on the BBC Science fiction Television David Fisher is a writer for television He was born in 1929 He wrote the scripts for four serials of Doctor Who. It was transmitted under the pseudonym "David Agnew")
• Shada (only partially filmed and not broadcast due to industrial disputes)

The episodes authored by Adams are some of the few that have not been novelised as Adams would not allow anyone else to write them, and asked for a higher price than the publishers were willing to pay. David Agnew is a Pseudonym that was traditionally used on BBC television drama programmes in the 1970s where a writer's name could not be used for contractual For the Arabic emphasis sign see Shadda; for the village in Azerbaijan see Şada. ^[19]

Adams was also known to allow in-jokes from The Hitchhiker's Guide to appear in the Doctor Who stories he wrote and other stories on which he served as Script Editor. Subsequent writers have also inserted Hitchhiker's references, even as recently as 2007. "42" is an episode of the British Science fiction television series Doctor Who. Conversely, at least one reference to Doctor Who was worked into a Hitchhiker's novel. In Life, the Universe and Everything, two characters travel in time and land on the pitch at Lord's Cricket Ground. Life the Universe and Everything ( 1982, ISBN 0-345-39182-9 is the third book in the five-volume Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Lord's Cricket Ground (generally known as Lord's) is a cricket The reaction of the radio commentators to their sudden appearance is very similar to the reactions of commentators in a scene in the eighth episode of the 1965 – 66 story The Daleks' Master Plan, which has the Doctor's TARDIS materialise on the pitch at Lord's. The Daleks' Master Plan is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The Doctor is the central character in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, and also features in The TARDIS ( T ime A nd R elative D imension(s I n S pace is a time machine and Spacecraft in the Teleportation is the movement of objects from one place to another more or less instantaneously either by Paranormal means or through technological artifice

Elements of Shada and City of Death were reused in Adams' later novel Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, in particular the character of Professor Chronotis, and Dirk Gently himself clearly fills much the same plot role as the Doctor (though the character is very different). Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency is a novel by Douglas Adams. Professor Urban Chronotis is a fictional character created by Douglas Adams. Big Finish Productions eventually remade Shada as an audio play starring Paul McGann as the Doctor. Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays (released straight to Compact disc and Paul McGann (born 14 November 1959 in Liverpool, England, United Kingdom) is an English actor who made his name on the BBC serial Accompanied by partially animated illustrations, it was webcast on the BBCi website in 2003, and subsequently released as a two-CD set later that year. Doctor Who spin-offs refers to material created outside of but related to the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor An omnibus edition of this version was broadcast on the digital radio station BBC7 on 10 December 2005. Events 1041 - Empress Zoe of Byzantium elevates her adoptive son to the throne of the Eastern Roman Empire as Michael V Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Adams is credited with introducing a fan and later friend of his, the zoologist Richard Dawkins, to Dawkins' future wife, Lalla Ward, who had played the part of Romana in Doctor Who. Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL (born 26 March 1941 is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist, and Popular science Lalla Ward (born Sarah Ward 28 June 1951) also known as The Honourable Sarah Ward, is an English actress author and illustrator Romana, short for Romanadvoratrelundar, is a Fictional character in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Dawkins confirmed this in his published eulogy of Adams. ^[20]

When he was at school, he wrote and performed a play called Doctor Which. ^[21]

Music

Adams played the guitar left-handed and had a collection of twenty-four left-handed guitars when he died in 2001 (having received his first guitar in 1964). The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles He also studied piano in the 1960s with the same teacher as Paul Wickens, the pianist who later played in Paul McCartney's band (and composed the music for the 2004 – 2005 editions of the Hitchhiker's Guide radio series). The piano is a Musical instrument played by means of a keyboard that produces sound by striking steel strings with Felt covered hammers Paul "Wix" Wickens is a Keyboardist and Composer from Essex, UK Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE (born 18 June 1942 is an English rock Singer, Bass guitarist songwriter Composer, ^[22] The Beatles, Pink Floyd and Procol Harum all had great influence on Adams' work. The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960 Pink Floyd are Procol Harum are a British rock band formed in the 1960s which built an important foundation for what would become Progressive rock, or perhaps more

Pink Floyd

Adams included a direct reference to Pink Floyd in the original radio version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, in which he describes the main characters surveying the landscape of an alien planet while Marvin, their android companion, hums Pink Floyd's "Shine on You Crazy Diamond". Pink Floyd are The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy series " Shine On You Crazy Diamond " is a nine-part Pink Floyd composition with lyrics written by Roger Waters in tribute to former band member Syd Barrett This was cut out of the CD version.

Adams also compared the various noises that the kakapo makes to "Pink Floyd studio out-takes" in his nonfiction book on endangered species, Last Chance to See. The Kakapo ( Māori: kākāpō, meaning night parrot) Strigops habroptilus (from the Greek strix, genitive The book Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine was first published in 1990, as a companion to the BBC

Adams' official biography shares its name with the song "Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd. " Wish You Were Here " is the title track on Pink Floyd 's 1975 album Wish You Were Here. Pink Floyd are Adams was friends with Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour and, on the occasion of Adams' 42nd birthday (the number 42 having special significance, being The Answer to Life, the Universe and Everything and also Adams' age when his daughter Polly was born), he was invited to make a guest appearance at Pink Floyd's 28 October 1994 concert at Earls Court in London, playing rhythm guitar on the songs "Brain Damage" and "Eclipse". David Jon Gilmour CBE (born 6 March 1946 is an English Musician, best known as the Lead guitarist one of the lead Singers The Answer to Life the Universe and Everything is numeric in Douglas Adams ' series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Events 306 - Maxentius is proclaimed Roman Emperor. 312 - Battle of Milvian Bridge: Constantine Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Rhythm guitar is the use of a Guitar to provide Rhythmic chordal Accompaniment for a singer or other instruments in a Musical ensemble " Brain Damage " is the ninth track (or eighth depending on the album release from British Progressive rock band Pink Floyd 's 1973 " Eclipse " is the tenth and final track from British Progressive rock Video is not available of this event, but a link to audio is present below. Adams chose the name for Pink Floyd's 1994 album, The Division Bell, by picking the words from the lyrics to one of its tracks, namely "High Hopes". The Division Bell is the final studio Album by Pink Floyd, released in 1994 (30 March in the United Kingdom and 5 April in the Gilmour also performed at Adams' memorial service following his death in 2001.

Pink Floyd and their lavish stage shows were also the inspiration for the Adams-created fictional rock band "Disaster Area", described in the Hitchhiker's Guide as "not only the loudest rock band in the galaxy, but in fact the loudest noise of any kind". Rock music is a genre of Popular music often though not necessarily employing Electric guitar, Bass guitar, and Drums. One element of Disaster Area's stage show was to send a space ship hurtling into a sun, probably inspired by the plane that would crash into the stage during some of Pink Floyd's live shows, usually at the end of "On the Run". " On the Run " is the third track from British Progressive rock band Pink Floyd 's 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon The 1968 Pink Floyd song "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" may also have influenced the ideas behind Disaster Area. " Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun " is a song by British Psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd, and is featured on their second album

Procol Harum

Douglas Adams was a friend of Gary Brooker, the lead singer, pianist and songwriter of the progressive rock band Procol Harum. Gary Brooker, MBE, (born 29 May 1943) is an English singer Songwriter, Pianist and founder of the Rock band Progressive rock (often shortened to " progressive " " prog " or " prog rock " is a form of Rock music that evolved Procol Harum are a British rock band formed in the 1960s which built an important foundation for what would become Progressive rock, or perhaps more Adams is known to have invited Brooker to one of the many parties that Adams held at his house. On one such occasion Gary Brooker performed the full (4 verse) version of his hit song "A Whiter Shade of Pale". " A Whiter Shade of Pale " is a song by the British band Procol Harum. Brooker also performed at Adams' memorial service.

Adams also appeared on stage with Brooker to perform "In Held Twas in I" at Redhill when the band's lyricist Keith Reid was not available. Keith Reid (born Keith Stuart Brian Reid, 19 October 1946 Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England) is a Songwriter who wrote the On several other occasions he had been known to introduce Procol Harum at their gigs.

Adams also let it be known that while writing he would listen to music, and this would occasionally influence his work. On one occasion the title track from the Procol Harum album Grand Hotel was playing when. Grand Hotel is an album by Procol Harum, released in 1973 Track listing "Grand Hotel" - 610 "Toujours l'amour" . .

Suddenly in the middle of the song there was this huge orchestral climax that came out of nowhere and didn't seem to be about anything. I kept wondering what was this huge thing happening in the background? And I eventually thought . . . it sounds as if there ought to be some sort of floorshow going on. Something huge and extraordinary, like, well, like the end of the universe. And so that was where the idea for The Restaurant at the End of the Universe came from.

—Douglas Adams, Procol Harum at The Barbican^[23]

Other musical links

Adams made a number of references to music and musicians who had influenced his work through his books. In the Hitchhiker's Guide series, examples include one of the two mice, in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, suggesting that as they have not found the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything, they should instead make it up, proposing to use the question "How many roads must a man walk down?" This is a line from Bob Dylan's song, "Blowin' in the Wind". The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ( 1979, ISBN 0-330-25864-8 is the title of the first of five books in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Bob Dylan (born Robert Zimmerman, May 24 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota) is an American singer-songwriter author poet and painter who has been a major " Blowin' in the Wind " is a Song written by Bob Dylan and released on his 1963 album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. Prior to this scene, in the same novel, the ship's computer onboard the Heart of Gold, unable to assist or prevent the ship's impending destruction with two nuclear missiles closing in on it, sings "You'll Never Walk Alone" in the background, a Rodgers and Hammerstein hit from the musical Carousel which had been an early 1960s rock hit in the UK and then was adopted as a crowd chant by many football fans, in particular Liverpool supporters. " You'll Never Walk Alone " is a Show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel. Richard Rodgers (1902 &ndash 1979 and Oscar Hammerstein II (1895 &ndash 1960 were a well-known American songwriting duo Carousel is a musical by Richard Rodgers (music and Oscar Hammerstein II (book and lyrics that was adapted from Ferenc Molnar Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered Liverpool Football Club are an English professional Association football club based in Liverpool England.

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, the second novel in the series, is dedicated to the 1980 Paul Simon soundtrack album, One-Trick Pony. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (1980 ISBN 0-345-39181-0 is the second book in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Comedy One-Trick Pony is an album released by Paul Simon in 1980 Paul Simon's One-Trick Pony is a record released to coincide with the movie of the Adams says he played it "incessantly" while writing the book. In one scene in the fourth novel, So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish, Arthur Dent listens to a Dire Straits LP and Adams goes on to pay tribute to their lead guitarist, Mark Knopfler. So Long and Thanks for All the Fish ( 1984, ISBN 0-345-39183-7 is the fourth book of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series written Dire Straits was a British rock band, formed in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (guitar and vocals his brother David Knopfler (guitar Mark Knopfler OBE (born August 12 1949 Glasgow, Scotland) is a British Guitarist, Singer, Songwriter, Adams later revealed that the particular song to which he refers in the book — although never by name — is "Tunnel of Love", from the Making Movies album. " Tunnel of Love " is a 1981 rock song by Dire Straits. Making Movies is the third Album by British rock band Dire Straits, released in 1980 And in the final novel, Mostly Harmless, Elvis is discovered playing in a diner attended by Ford Prefect and Arthur Dent, where he is simply known as "The King". Mostly Harmless is a Novel by Douglas Adams and the fifth book of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series Ford Prefect (also called Ix) is a Fictional character in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by the British author Douglas For the Australian political activist see Albert Langer Arthur Philip Dent is a Fictional character, the hapless Protagonist

Besides modern rock music, Douglas Adams was a great admirer of the work of JS Bach, which provides a minor plot element in Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency. WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section.2 This article is written in British English including maximised use of "-ise" Adams was also good friends with The Monkees' Michael Nesmith. For the group's self-titled album see The Monkees (album. For the TV series see The Monkees (TV series. Robert Michael Nesmith (b December 30, 1942) in Harris County Texas, is an American musician songwriter Actor, producer In the early 1990s, one of the aborted attempts to have The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy adapted into a movie would have had Nesmith as its producer.

Adams was also a fan of The Beatles. The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960 He makes a reference to Paul McCartney in Life, the Universe and Everything and quotes lyrics and titles from songs by The Beatles in Mostly Harmless and Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency. Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE (born 18 June 1942 is an English rock Singer, Bass guitarist songwriter Composer, In 'Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency' this exchange takes place:

"Yes, it is," said the Professor. "Wait--let it be. It won't be long. "

Richard stared in disbelief. "You say there's a horse in your bathroom, and all you can do is stand there naming Beatles songs?"

"Well, the bathroom window's open. I expect she came in through that. "

"You're doing it deliberately, aren't you?"

Adams also does this several times in The Salmon of Doubt. In Chapter 3 there is a conversation between Kate and Dirk, which includes the following exchange:

"So?"

"I looked around and I noticed there wasn't a chair. "

Taken together, these two lines form a quotation from "Norwegian Wood" on the Rubber Soul album. " Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown " is a song by The Beatles which first appeared on the 1965 album Rubber Soul. Rubber Soul is the sixth studio album by the English rock band The Beatles.

Computer games and projects

Douglas Adams created an interactive fiction version of HHGG together with Steve Meretzky from Infocom in 1984. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is an Interactive fiction Computer game based on the seminal comic Science fiction series of the Steven Eric Meretzky (born May 1, 1957) is an American computer game designer with dozens of titles to his credit Infocom was a Software company, based in Cambridge Massachusetts, that produced numerous works of Interactive fiction. In 1986 he participated in a week-long brainstorming session with the Lucasfilm Games team for the game Labyrinth. LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC is an American Video game developer and publisher. Later he was also involved in creating Bureaucracy (also by Infocom, but not based on any book). Bureaucracy is an Interactive fiction Computer game released by Infocom in 1987 scripted by popular comic Science fiction Adams was also responsible for the computer game Starship Titanic, which was published in 1998 by Simon and Schuster. Starship Titanic is a Computer game designed by Douglas Adams and made by The Digital Village. Simon & Schuster Inc, a division of CBS Corporation, is a Publisher founded in New York in 1924 by Richard L Terry Jones wrote the accompanying book, entitled Douglas Adams’s Starship Titanic, since Adams was too busy with the computer game to do both. In April 1999, Adams initiated the h2g2 collaborative writing project, an experimental attempt at making The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy a reality, and at harnessing the collective brainpower of the internet community. h2g2 is a collaborative online encyclopedia project engaged in the construction of in its own words "an unconventional guide to life the universe and everything" The term collaborative writing refers to projects where written works are created by multiple people together ( collaboratively) rather than individually The Internet is a global system of interconnected Computer networks

In 1990, Adams wrote and presented a television documentary programme Hyperland^[24] which featured Tom Baker as a "software agent" (similar to the "Assistants" used in several versions of Microsoft Office, derived from their failed "Bob" program), and interviews with Ted Nelson, which was essentially about the use of hypertext. Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt in one fashion or another to " Document " reality Hyperland is a 50 minute long Documentary film about Hypertext and surrounding technologies written by Douglas Adams and produced by Thomas Stewart "Tom" Baker (born 20 January 1934 is an English Actor. Microsoft Office is a set of interrelated desktop applications servers and services collectively referred to as an Office suite, for the Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Bob was a Microsoft Software product released in March 1995, which provided a new nontechnical interface to Desktop computing Theodor Holm Nelson (born 1937 is an American Sociologist, Philosopher, and pioneer of Information technology. Although Adams did not invent hypertext, he was an early adopter and advocate of it. This was the same year that Tim Berners-Lee used the idea of hypertext in his HTML. Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee OM KBE FRS FREng FRSA (born 8 June 1955 is an English computer scientist who is credited HTML, an initialism of HyperText Markup Language, is the predominant Markup language for Web pages It provides a means to describe the structure

Dirk Gently series

In between Adams' first trip to Madagascar with Mark Carwardine in 1985, and their series of travels that formed the basis for the radio series and non-fiction book Last Chance to See, Adams wrote two other novels with a new cast of characters. Mark Carwardine (born 1959-03-09) is a Zoologist, who at one time was affiliated with the World Wildlife Fund, and has been a freelance writer photographer The book Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine was first published in 1990, as a companion to the BBC Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency was first published in 1987, and was described by its author as "a kind of ghost-horror-detective-time-travel-romantic-comedy-epic, mainly concerned with mud, music and quantum mechanics. Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency is a novel by Douglas Adams. "^[25] It received many rave reviews from American newspapers upon its publication in the USA. Adams borrowed a few ideas from two Doctor Who stories he had worked on: City of Death and Shada. Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. City of Death is a serial in the British Science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four For the Arabic emphasis sign see Shadda; for the village in Azerbaijan see Şada.

A sequel novel, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul was published a year later. The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul is a 1988 humorous Fantasy detective novel by Douglas Adams. This was an entirely original work, Adams' first since So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish. Reviewers, however, were not as generous with praise for the second volume as they had been for the first. After the obligatory book tours, Adams was off on his round-the-world excursion which supplied him with the material for Last Chance to See.

Personal beliefs

Atheism and view on religion

Adams was a "radical atheist", though he used the term for emphasis so that he would not be asked if he meant agnostic. Atheism Agnosticism ( Greek: α- a-, without + γνώσις gnōsis, knowledge after Gnosticism) is the philosophical view that the He stated in an interview with American Atheists^[26] that this made things easier, but most importantly it conveyed the fact that he really meant it, had thought about it, and that it was an opinion he held seriously. American Atheists is an organization in the United States dedicated to defending the Civil liberties of atheists and advocating for the complete He stated that his views had nothing to do with belief, and stated that "I am convinced there is no God", and devoted himself to secular causes such as environmentalism. God is the principal or sole Deity in Religions and other belief systems that worship one deity. Environmentalism is a broad philosophy and Social movement centered on a concern for the conservation and improvement of the environment. Despite this, he did state in the same interview that he was "fascinated by religion. " [. . . ] "I love to keep poking and prodding at it. I’ve thought about it so much over the years that that fascination is bound to spill over into my writing. " His fascination he ascribed to the fact that so many "otherwise rational. . . intelligent people. . . nevertheless take it [the existence of God] seriously".

The evolutionary biologist and atheist Richard Dawkins in The God Delusion uses Adams' influence throughout to exemplify arguments for non-belief; Dawkins jokingly states that Adams is "possibly [my] only convert" to atheism. Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL (born 26 March 1941 is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist, and Popular science The God Delusion is a 2006 bestselling non-fiction book by British biologist Richard Dawkins, holder of the Charles Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding In the same paragraph Dawkins expresses missing his close friend. ^[27] The book is dedicated to Adams' memory, quoting him, "Isn’t it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?".

Sentient puddle

One analogy Adams put forward about religion was that of the "sentient puddle. " This analogy is intended to refute the suggestion that the existence of God and His love for humankind would be proven because the world is perfectly designed for our needs. He compared such thinkers to an intelligent puddle of water. Adams said the puddle is certain that the hole in the ground he occupies must have been designed specifically for him because it fits him so well. The puddle exists under the sun until he has entirely evaporated. ^[28][29]

Environmental activism

Adams was also an environmental activist who campaigned on behalf of a number of endangered species. Environmentalism is a broad philosophy and Social movement centered on a concern for the conservation and improvement of the environment. An endangered species is a population of an organism which is at risk of becoming Extinct because it is either few in numbers or threatened by changing environmental or predation This activism included the production of the non-fiction radio series Last Chance to See, in which he and naturalist Mark Carwardine visited rare species such as the Kakapo and Baiji, and the publication of a tie-in book of the same name. The book Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine was first published in 1990, as a companion to the BBC Natural history is the Scientific research of Plants or Animals leaning more towards the Observational than Experimental methods Mark Carwardine (born 1959-03-09) is a Zoologist, who at one time was affiliated with the World Wildlife Fund, and has been a freelance writer photographer The Kakapo ( Māori: kākāpō, meaning night parrot) Strigops habroptilus (from the Greek strix, genitive The ( ( Lipotes vexillifer, Lipotes meaning "left behind" In 1992, this was made into a CD-ROM combination of audio book, e-book and picture slide show. An e-book (for electronic book: also ebook) is the Digital media equivalent of a conventional printed Book.

Adams and Mark Carwardine contributed the 'Meeting a Gorilla' passage from Last Chance to See to the book The Great Ape Project. The book Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine was first published in 1990, as a companion to the BBC The Great Ape Project (GAP founded in 1993 is an international organization of Primatologists Psychologists Ethicists and other experts who advocate ^[30] This book, edited by Paola Cavalieri and Peter Singer launched a wider-scale project in 1993, which calls for the extension of moral equality to include all great apes, human or nonhuman. Paola Cavalieri is an Italian philosopher most known for her work arguing for extension of human rights to the other Great apes. Peter Albert David Singer (born July 6, 1946 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) is an Australian philosopher.

In 1994 he participated in a climb of Mount Kilimanjaro while wearing a rhino suit for the British charity organisation Save the Rhino. Save the Rhino International (SRI a UK -based conservation charity is Europe ’s largest single-species rhino charity in terms of funds raised Many different people participated in the same climb and took turns wearing the rhino suit; Adams wore the suit while traveling to the mountain before the climb proper began. About £100,000 were raised through that event, benefiting schools in Kenya and a Black Rhinoceros preservation programme in Tanzania. The Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the north Somalia to the northeast Tanzania to the south The Black Rhinoceros ( Diceros bicornis) also colloquially Black Rhino, is a species of Rhinoceros, native to the eastern and central areas of Africa Tanzania ˌtænzəˈniːə officially the United Republic of Tanzania (Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya Adams was also an active supporter of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. Dian Fossey ( January 16, 1932, San Francisco, California &ndash December 26, 1985, Virunga Mountains,

Since 2003, Save the Rhino has held an annual Douglas Adams Memorial Lecture around the time of his birthday to raise money for environmental campaigns. Save the Rhino International (SRI a UK -based conservation charity is Europe ’s largest single-species rhino charity in terms of funds raised ^[31] The lectures in the series are:

• 2003 Richard Dawkins — Queerer than we can suppose: the strangeness of science
• 2004 Robert Swan — on walking across Antarctica and his environmental work there
• 2005 Mark Carwardine — Last Chance to See. Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL (born 26 March 1941 is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist, and Popular science Robert Charles Swan, OBE, BA FRGS was born on 28 July 1956 in Durham England and attended Sedbergh School (1969-1974 Mark Carwardine (born 1959-03-09) is a Zoologist, who at one time was affiliated with the World Wildlife Fund, and has been a freelance writer photographer . . Just a bit more
• 2006 Robert Winston — Is the Human an Endangered Species?
• 2007 Richard Leakey — Wildlife Management in East Africa – Is there a future?
• 2008 Steven Pinker — The Stuff of Thought, Language as a Window into Human Nature

Technology

Adams was a serious fan of technology. Robert Maurice Lipson Winston Baron Winston FRCP FRCOG (born 15 July 1940) is a British Medical doctor, Scientist Richard Erskine Frere Leakey (born 19 December 1944 in Nairobi, Kenya) is a Kenyan politician Steven Arthur Pinker (born September 18 1954 is a prominent Canadian - American experimental psychologist, cognitive scientist, and author Though he did not buy his first word processor until 1982, he had considered one as early as 1979. He was quoted as saying that until 1982, he had difficulties with "the impenetrable barrier of jargon. Words were flying backwards and forwards without concepts riding on their backs. " In 1982, his first purchase was a 'Nexus'. In 1983, when he and Jane Belson went out to Los Angeles, he bought a DEC Rainbow. Digital Equipment Corporation was a pioneering American company in the Computer industry The Rainbow 100 was a Microcomputer introduced by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC in 1982 to compete in the IBM PC market Upon their return to England, Adams bought an Apricot, then a BBC Micro and a Tandy 1000. Apricot Computers was a British manufacturer of business Personal computers originally founded in 1965 as "Applied Computer Techniques" (ACT Tandy Corporation was a family-owned Leather goods company based in Fort Worth Texas, which is best known for purchasing and giving its name to the Fort Worth ^[32] In Last Chance to See Adams mentions his Cambridge Z88, which he had taken to Zaire on a quest to find the Northern White Rhinoceros. The book Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine was first published in 1990, as a companion to the BBC The Cambridge Computer Z88 was an A4 -size lightweight portable Z80 -based Computer with a built-in combined Word processing / The Republic of Zaire (pronunciation; République du Zaïre was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between October 27, 1971 ^[33]

Adams' posthumously published work, The Salmon of Doubt, features multiple articles written by Douglas on the subject of technology, including reprints of articles that originally ran in MacUser magazine, and in The Independent on Sunday newspaper. The Salmon of Doubt Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time is a posthumous collection of previously unpublished material by Douglas Adams. MacUser is a fortnightly computer magazine published by Dennis Publishing Ltd The Independent is a British compact Newspaper published by Tony O'Reilly 's Independent News & Media. In these, Adams claims that one of the first computers he ever saw was a Commodore PET, and that his love affair with the Apple Macintosh first began after seeing one at Infocom's headquarters in Massachusetts in 1983 (though that was actually very likely an Apple Lisa). The PET ( P ersonal E lectronic T ransactor) was a home -/ Personal computer produced by Commodore starting in 1977 Macintosh, commonly nicknamed Mac is a Brand name which covers several lines of Personal computers designed developed and marketed by Apple Inc For the MOS 6502 assembler for Apple II computers see Lisa assembler. ^[34]

Adams was a Macintosh user from the time they first came out in 1984 until his death in 2001. He was the second person to buy a Mac in the UK (the first being Stephen Fry - though some accounts differ on this, saying Adams bought the first two, and Fry bought the third). Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957 is an English Humorist, Writer, Wit, Actor, Novelist, filmmaker Adams was also an "Apple Master", one of several celebrities whom Apple made into spokespeople for its products (other Apple Masters included John Cleese and Gregory Hines). AppleMasters was a group of selected people from all over the world who used and endorsed the Apple Macintosh computer John Marwood Cleese (ˈkliːz born 27 October, 1939) is a British Actor, Comedian, Writer, Film producer Gregory Oliver Hines ( February 14, 1946 – August 9, 2003) was an American Actor, Singer, Dancer Adams' contributions included a rock video that he created using the first version of iMovie with footage featuring his daughter Polly. iMovie is a Video editing software application which allows Mac users to edit their own home movies The video can still be seen on Adams' .Mac homepage. Adams even installed and started using the first release of Mac OS X in the weeks leading up to his death. Mac OS X (mæk oʊ ɛs tɛn is a line of computer Operating systems developed marketed and sold by Apple Inc, the latest of which is pre-loaded on all currently His very last post to his own forum was in praise of Mac OS X and the possibilities of its Cocoa programming framework. Cocoa is Apple Inc 's native Object-oriented application program environment for the Mac OS X Operating system ^[35] Adams can also be seen in the Omnibus tribute included with the Region One/NTSC DVD release of the TV adaptation of The Hitchhiker's Guide using Mac OS X on his PowerBook G3. Omnibus was an arts-based BBC television documentary series broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom. The PowerBook is a line of Macintosh Laptop Computers that was designed manufactured and sold by Apple Computer Inc

Adams used e-mail extensively from the technology's infancy, adopting a very early version of e-mail to correspond with Steve Meretzky during the pair's collaboration on Infocom's version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Steven Eric Meretzky (born May 1, 1957) is an American computer game designer with dozens of titles to his credit The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is an Interactive fiction Computer game based on the seminal comic Science fiction series of the While living in New Mexico in 1993 he set up another e-mail address and began posting to his own USENET newsgroup, alt. Usenet, a Portmanteau of "user" and "network" is a world-wide distributed Internet discussion system fan. douglas-adams, and occasionally, when his computer was acting up, to the comp. sys. mac hierarchy. ^[36] Many of his posts are now archived through Google. Google Inc is an American public corporation, earning revenue from advertising related to its Internet search, e-mail, online Challenges to the authenticity of his messages later led Adams to set up a message forum on his own website to avoid the issue.

Personal life

In the early 1980s, Adams had an affair with novelist Sally Emerson, who was separated from her husband at that time. Sally Emerson (born 16 December 1954) is a British writer She has written several novels and an anthology of poetry as well as numerous articles for Adams later dedicated his book Life, the Universe and Everything to Ms. Life the Universe and Everything ( 1982, ISBN 0-345-39182-9 is the third book in the five-volume Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Emerson. In 1981 Emerson returned to her husband, Peter Stothard, a contemporary of Adams at Brentwood School, and later editor of The Times. Sir Peter Stothard (born 28 February 1951) is a British Newspaper editor, currently for the Times Literary Supplement Brentwood School is a public school in Brentwood Essex, England. The Times is a daily national Newspaper published in the United Kingdom since 1785 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register. Adams was soon introduced by friends to Jane Belson, with whom he later became romantically involved. Belson was the "lady barrister" mentioned in the jacket-flap biography printed in his books during the mid-1980s ("He [Adams] lives in Islington with a lady barrister and an Apple Macintosh"). The two lived in Los Angeles together during 1983 while Adams worked on an early screenplay adaptation of Hitchhiker's. When the deal fell through, they moved to London, and after several separations ("He is currently not certain where he lives, or with whom") and an aborted engagement, they were married on 25 November 1991. Events 1034 - Máel Coluim mac Cináeda, King of Scots dies Donnchad, the Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. Adams and Belson had one daughter together, Polly Jane Rocket Adams, born on 22 June 1994, in the year that Adams turned 42. Events 217 BC - Battle of Raphia: Ptolemy IV of Egypt defeats Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid kingdom. Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) 42 ( forty-two) is the Natural number following 41 and preceding 43. In 1999, the family moved from London to Santa Barbara, California, where they lived until Adams' death. Santa Barbara is a city in Santa Barbara County California, United States. Following his funeral, Jane Belson and Polly Adams returned to London, where they currently reside. ^[37]

Death

Adams died of a heart attack at the age of 49 on 11 May 2001, during the rest period of his regular workout at a private gym in Montecito, California. Myocardial infarction ( MI or AMI for acute myocardial infarction) also known as a heart attack, occurs when the blood supply Events 330 - Byzantium is renamed ''Nova Roma'' during a dedication ceremony but is more popularly referred to as Constantinople Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. The word γυμνάσιον (gymnasion was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual Education of young men (see Gymnasium Montecito is a Census-designated place (CDP in Santa Barbara County California. He had unknowingly suffered a gradual narrowing of the coronary arteries, which led at that moment to a myocardial infarction and a fatal cardiac arrhythmia. Myocardial infarction ( MI or AMI for acute myocardial infarction) also known as a heart attack, occurs when the blood supply Dysrhythmia redirects here For the American band see Dysrhythmia (band. Adams had been due to deliver the commencement address at Harvey Mudd College on 13 May. Harvey Mudd College is a private college of Science, Engineering, and Mathematics, located in Claremont California. Events 1497 - Pope Alexander VI excommunicates Girolamo Savonarola. ^[38] His funeral was held on 16 May 2001 in Santa Barbara, California. Events 1204 - Baldwin IX Count of Flanders is crowned as the first Emperor of the Latin Empire. Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Several friends and people he had worked with were in attendance. His ashes were placed in Highgate Cemetery in north London in June 2002. Highgate Cemetery is a Cemetery located in Highgate, London, England. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. ^[39]

A memorial service was held on 17 September 2001 at St. Events 1176 - The Battle of Myriokephalon is fought 1462 - The Battle of Świecino (or Battle of Żarnowiec Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Martin-in-the-Fields Church, Trafalgar Square, London. This became the first church service of any kind broadcast live on the web by the BBC. ^[40] Video clips of the service are still available on the BBC's website for download. ^[41]

In May 2002, The Salmon of Doubt was published, containing many short stories, essays, and letters, as well as eulogies from Richard Dawkins, Stephen Fry (in the UK edition), Christopher Cerf (in the U. The Salmon of Doubt Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time is a posthumous collection of previously unpublished material by Douglas Adams. The short story is a literary genre of Fictional Prose Narrative that tends to be more concise and to the point than longer works of fiction such An essay is usually a short piece of writing It is often written from an author's personal point of view. A eulogy is a speech or writing in Praise of a person or thing Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL (born 26 March 1941 is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist, and Popular science Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957 is an English Humorist, Writer, Wit, Actor, Novelist, filmmaker Christopher Cerf (born August 19, 1941) is a US author composer-lyricist and record and television producer S. edition), and Terry Jones (in the U. For other uses see Terry Jones (disambiguation. Terence Graham Parry Jones (born 1 February 1942) is a Welsh S. paperback edition). It also includes eleven chapters of his long-awaited but unfinished novel, The Salmon of Doubt, which was likely to become a new Dirk Gently novel. Dirk Gently (real name Svlad Cjelli also known as Dirk Cjelli) is a fictional character created by Douglas Adams and featured in the books Dirk

Other events after Adams' death included the completion of Shada, radio dramatisations of the final three books in the Hitchhiker's series, and the completion of the film adaptation of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. For the Arabic emphasis sign see Shadda; for the village in Azerbaijan see Şada. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ( 1979, ISBN 0-330-25864-8 is the title of the first of five books in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy An 18-part radio series based on the Dirk Gently novels was announced in 2007, with transmission scheduled for October of that year. Dirk Gently (real name Svlad Cjelli also known as Dirk Cjelli) is a fictional character created by Douglas Adams and featured in the books Dirk ^[42]

Biographies

His official biography, Wish You Were Here, by Nick Webb, was published on 6 October 2003 (ISBN 0-7553-1155-8). A biography (from the Greek words bíos (βίος meaning "life" and gráphein (γράφειν meaning "to write" is an account Nick Webb (born 1949) is a book editor and author He approached Douglas Adams and John Lloyd in 1978 to commission the two of them for a novelization Events 105 BC - Battle of Arausio: The Cimbri inflict the heaviest defeat on the Roman army of Gnaeus Mallius Maximus Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ^[43]

Another biography is Hitchhiker: A Biography of Douglas Adams (2003) by M. Hitchhiker is a biography of comedy science-fiction writer and creator of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams, who lived from J. Simpson, with a foreword in the UK edition by John Lloyd (ISBN 0-340-82488-3), and was revised and updated in paperback in February 2004 (ISBN 0-340-82489-1). A foreword is a (usually short piece of writing often found at the beginning of a book or other piece of Literature, before the introduction, and written by someone John Hardress Wilfred Lloyd (born 30 September 1951) is a British comedy writer and television producer The American hardback edition contains a foreword by Neil Gaiman (ISBN 1-932112-17-0), and its April 2005 paperback equivalent (ISBN 1-932112-35-9) has an extra chapter about the movie. Neil Richard Gaiman (ˈgeɪmən (born November 10, 1960) is an English author of Science fiction and Fantasy short stories and

Upon the mutual discovery that Webb and Simpson were both working on new posthumous biographies, the two authors agreed that the former would focus on Adams' life and personality, and the latter on his work.

In 1992, ITV's The South Bank Show produced a documentary about Douglas Adams which featured Dirk Gently and characters from Hitchhikers and contributions from Stephen Fry, Richard Dawkins and John Lloyd. The South Bank Show is an award-winning Television arts magazine show made by London Weekend Television, presented by Melvyn Bragg, broadcast

The BBC produced a tribute as part of their TV series Omnibus. It was first broadcast on BBC 2 on 4 August 2001, presented by Kirsty Wark. Events 70 - The Destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans. Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Kirsteen Anne Wark (born 3 February, 1955) is a Scottish Journalist and Television presenter best known for fronting the BBC The programme included interviews with Stephen Fry, Clive Anderson, Terry Jones, Griff Rhys Jones, Richard Dawkins and John Lloyd, among others. Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957 is an English Humorist, Writer, Wit, Actor, Novelist, filmmaker Clive Anderson (born 10 December 1952) is a former Barrister, now famous for being a successful Comedy writer as well as a For other uses see Terry Jones (disambiguation. Terence Graham Parry Jones (born 1 February 1942) is a Welsh Griffith Rhys Jones (born 6th November or 16th November (depending on source speakers agent (6th or BBC (16th 1953 in Cardiff, Wales Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL (born 26 March 1941 is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist, and Popular science A copy is included with the Region One DVD release of the Hitchhiker's Guide TV series.

A movie documentary, Life, The Universe and Douglas Adams, was released in 2002, directed and produced by Rick Mueller and Joel Greengrass. Archive footage of Adams is generously included, as well as interviews with Adams' friends, colleagues and family. This documentary was narrated by Neil Gaiman and is available on VHS tape. Neil Richard Gaiman (ˈgeɪmən (born November 10, 1960) is an English author of Science fiction and Fantasy short stories and ^[44]

Earlier biographies include:

• Don't Panic: The Official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Companion (1988, 1993, 2002), Neil Gaiman et al. Don't Panic The Official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Companion is a book by Neil Gaiman about Douglas Adams and The Hitchhiker's Guide to Neil Richard Gaiman (ˈgeɪmən (born November 10, 1960) is an English author of Science fiction and Fantasy short stories and Reissued October 2003 (ISBN 1-84023-742-2) with new chapters by M. J. Simpson and David K. Dickson.
• M. J. Simpson's book The Pocket Essential Hitchhiker's Guide was first published in April 2001 in the UK (ISBN 1-903047-40-4), and revised and reprinted after the death of Douglas Adams in October 2001. A third revision, (though titled the "Second, Revised Edition") was published in April 2005 in the UK, with new material (ISBN 1-904048-46-3).

Works

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy on audio and video: The original 12 radio episodes (from 1978 and 1980) are available in CD sets from BBC Audio (as The Primary & Secondary Phases), as well as on a single MP3-CD. The terms Primary Phase and Secondary Phase describe the first two radio series of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a Digital audio encoding format using a form of Lossy data compression The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was the first radio series released on Compact Disc and on MP3-CD, respectively, by the then BBC Radio Collection. The three additional phases adapted from the last three books in the series are available from BBC Audio. The Tertiary Phase was broadcast on BBC Radio 21 September to 26 October 2004, whilst The Quandary Phase was broadcast 3 May to 24 May 2005, and The Quintessential Phase followed immediately afterward, from 31 May through 21 June 2005. The Tertiary Phase, Quandary Phase and Quintessential Phase are radio adaptations of the books Life the Universe and Everything Events 1217 - The Estonian tribal leader Lembitu of Lehola was killed in a battle against Teutonic Knights. Events 740 - An Earthquake strikes Constantinople, causing much damage and death "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " The Tertiary Phase, Quandary Phase and Quintessential Phase are radio adaptations of the books Life the Universe and Everything Events 1491 - Kongo monarch Nkuwu Nzinga is baptised by Portuguese missionaries adopting the baptismal name of João Events 1218 - The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt. 1276 - Magnus Ladulås is crowned Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Tertiary Phase, Quandary Phase and Quintessential Phase are radio adaptations of the books Life the Universe and Everything Events 1279 BC - Rameses II (The Great (19th dynasty becomes pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. Events 524 - Godomar, King of the Burgundians defeats the Franks at the Battle of Vézeronce. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A script book for the original 12 episodes has been published, and a new script book for the final 14 episodes was published in July 2005. BBC Audio released a CD boxset containing all 26 episodes in October 2005. A DVD release of each of the three 2004 – 2005 series, featuring mixes in 5. 1 surround sound, are also planned for release in 2006, starting in October, per Dirk Maggs. However, as of December 2006, only the Tertiary Phase has been released on DVD. While the first disc is not a DVD-Audio, as was originally announced, it still marks the first release of any radio series in a 5. DVD-Audio (commonly abbreviated as DVD-A) is a digital format for delivering very High-fidelity audio content on a DVD. 1 mix on DVD by BBC Audio. The six-episode TV adaptation is also available from the BBC (or its distributors, e. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, was a BBC television adaptation of Douglas Adams 's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy broadcast in January g. Warner Home Video in the USA and Canada) on VHS and DVD.

Novels in the Hitchhiker series

• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1979)
• The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (1980)
• Life, the Universe and Everything (1982)
• So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish (1984)
• Mostly Harmless (1992)

All of the above are also available as unabridged audio books, read by Adams. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ( 1979, ISBN 0-330-25864-8 is the title of the first of five books in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (1980 ISBN 0-345-39181-0 is the second book in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Comedy Life the Universe and Everything ( 1982, ISBN 0-345-39182-9 is the third book in the five-volume Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy So Long and Thanks for All the Fish ( 1984, ISBN 0-345-39183-7 is the fourth book of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series written Mostly Harmless is a Novel by Douglas Adams and the fifth book of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series Abridgement or abridgment is a term defined as "shortening" or "condensing" and is most commonly used in reference to the act of reducing a written work These were preceded by abridged audio books of the first four novels, read by Stephen Moore. Stephen Moore (born 11 December 1937) is an English Actor, known for his work on British television in the 80s and 2000s To tie in with the film release, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is also available as an audiobook read by Stephen Fry. Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957 is an English Humorist, Writer, Wit, Actor, Novelist, filmmaker Martin Freeman, who portrayed Arthur Dent in the movie adaptation of The Hitchhiker's Guide, has recorded audiobook editions of the last four books in the series, released between June and December 2006. Martin Freeman ( September 8 1971) is an English Actor. He is most famous for his roles as Tim Canterbury in the BBC 's For the Australian political activist see Albert Langer Arthur Philip Dent is a Fictional character, the hapless Protagonist

The volumes in the Hitchhiker's series have also been collected into omnibus editions, including The Hitchhiker's Trilogy (released in 1982), The Hitchhiker's Quartet (released in 1986), The More than Complete Hitchhiker's Guide (released in 1987), and The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide (released in 1997). The latter two editions also include the short story Young Zaphod Plays it Safe. Young Zaphod Plays it Safe is a Short story by Douglas Adams set in his The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy universe

Dirk Gently series

• Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (1987)
• The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul (1988)
• The Salmon of Doubt (incomplete, 2002)

Adams recorded an abridged audiobook adaptation of the first novel in this series in the 1980s. Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency is a novel by Douglas Adams. The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul is a 1988 humorous Fantasy detective novel by Douglas Adams. The Salmon of Doubt Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time is a posthumous collection of previously unpublished material by Douglas Adams. The sequel was performed by Simon Jones, also in an abridged adaptation. Simon Jones (born 27 July 1950) is an English Actor, most famous for his appearances in the Television and Radio series Both were released by Simon and Schuster Audioworks in the United States, and are out of print. Adams, a decade later, recorded unabridged adaptations of both novels, which are both available in six CD sets. Following Adams' death an audiobook of the partially completed Salmon of Doubt was recorded by Simon Jones. The Salmon of Doubt Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time is a posthumous collection of previously unpublished material by Douglas Adams. Simon Jones (born 27 July 1950) is an English Actor, most famous for his appearances in the Television and Radio series

Other books

• The Meaning of Liff (1983, with John Lloyd)
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Original Radio Scripts (1985, with Geoffrey Perkins)
• The Utterly Utterly Merry Comic Relief Christmas Book (1986, edited by Douglas Adams and Peter Fincham), which includes
  • Young Zaphod Plays it Safe (also printed in a slightly reworked version in The Wizards of Odd, The Salmon of Doubt, and several omnibus editions of Hitchhiker)
  • The Private Life of Genghis Khan, also available in the first edition of The Salmon of Doubt, though later removed due to copyright issues
  • A Christmas Fairly Story [sic] by Douglas Adams and Terry Jones
  • A "Supplement to The Meaning of Liff" with John Lloyd and Stephen Fry
• The Deeper Meaning of Liff (1990, with John Lloyd; extended version of The Meaning of Liff)
• Last Chance to See (1990, with Mark Carwardine, non-fictional account of several trips to see endangered species; according to a piece in The Salmon of Doubt, this book gave Adams the most satisfaction, if not the highest sales. The Meaning of Liff (UK Edition ISBN 0-330-28121-6 US Edition ISBN 0-517-55347-3 is a humorous Dictionary of Toponomy and Etymology, John Hardress Wilfred Lloyd (born 30 September 1951) is a British comedy writer and television producer The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy The Original Radio Scripts is a book published in 1985, containing the scripts for the original radio series Geoffrey Howard Perkins ( 22 February 1953 - 29 August 2008) was a Comedy producer writer and performer and a central figure in The Utterly Utterly Merry Comic Relief Christmas Book was a fundraising book issued on behalf of Comic Relief in 1986. Peter Fincham (born 26 July, 1956) is a British Television producer and executive currently the Director of Television for the ITV Young Zaphod Plays it Safe is a Short story by Douglas Adams set in his The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy universe Sic is a Latin word meaning "thus" "so" "as such" or "just as that" For other uses see Terry Jones (disambiguation. Terence Graham Parry Jones (born 1 February 1942) is a Welsh The Meaning of Liff (UK Edition ISBN 0-330-28121-6 US Edition ISBN 0-517-55347-3 is a humorous Dictionary of Toponomy and Etymology, John Hardress Wilfred Lloyd (born 30 September 1951) is a British comedy writer and television producer Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957 is an English Humorist, Writer, Wit, Actor, Novelist, filmmaker The Meaning of Liff (UK Edition ISBN 0-330-28121-6 US Edition ISBN 0-517-55347-3 is a humorous Dictionary of Toponomy and Etymology, John Hardress Wilfred Lloyd (born 30 September 1951) is a British comedy writer and television producer The book Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine was first published in 1990, as a companion to the BBC Mark Carwardine (born 1959-03-09) is a Zoologist, who at one time was affiliated with the World Wildlife Fund, and has been a freelance writer photographer The Salmon of Doubt Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time is a posthumous collection of previously unpublished material by Douglas Adams. An abridged audiobook version read by Adams was also released. )
• The Illustrated Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1994)
• Douglas Adams's Starship Titanic (1997), written by Terry Jones (who insists he wrote the whole thing while in the nude), based on an idea by Douglas Adams; also available as an audiobook, read by Terry Jones
• The Salmon of Doubt (2002), unfinished novel manuscript (11 chapters), short stories, essays, and interviews (also available as an audiobook, read by Simon Jones)

Other works

• Monty Python's Flying Circus Episode 45, Party Political Broadcast on Behalf of the Liberal Party (1972)
• The Pirate Planet - a Doctor Who serial first broadcast in 1978, available on VHS and DVD
• City of Death - a Doctor Who serial, cowritten with Graham Williams, based on a story by David Fisher, first broadcast in October 1978, available on VHS and DVD. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ( 1979, ISBN 0-330-25864-8 is the title of the first of five books in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Starship Titanic is a Computer game designed by Douglas Adams and made by The Digital Village. For other uses see Terry Jones (disambiguation. Terence Graham Parry Jones (born 1 February 1942) is a Welsh The Salmon of Doubt Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time is a posthumous collection of previously unpublished material by Douglas Adams. Simon Jones (born 27 July 1950) is an English Actor, most famous for his appearances in the Television and Radio series Monty Python’s Flying Circus (also known as Flying Circus or during the final series just Monty Python) is a BBC Sketch comedy The Pirate Planet is a serial in the British Science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in City of Death is a serial in the British Science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four Graham Williams was a British Television producer and Script editor, whose best known work was on the BBC Science fiction Television David Fisher is a writer for television He was born in 1929 He wrote the scripts for four serials of Doctor Who.
• Shada - a Doctor Who serial, originally intended to be broadcast in January/February 1980. For the Arabic emphasis sign see Shadda; for the village in Azerbaijan see Şada. Available footage released on video in 1992. A complete, animated form was made available on the web in 2003, and on CD later that same year.
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (computer game) (1984, with Steve Meretzky)
• Bureaucracy (computer game) (1987)
• Hyperland (TV documentary) (1990)
• Starship Titanic (computer game) (1998)
• h2g2 (internet project) (1999)
• The Internet: The Last Battleground of the 20th century (radio series) (2000)
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Future (radio series) (2001)

In 2004, BBC Audio published a 3-CD set entitled Douglas Adams at the BBC, which covers the author's work from 1974 to 2003, including posthumous projects and tributes. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is an Interactive fiction Computer game based on the seminal comic Science fiction series of the Steven Eric Meretzky (born May 1, 1957) is an American computer game designer with dozens of titles to his credit Bureaucracy is an Interactive fiction Computer game released by Infocom in 1987 scripted by popular comic Science fiction Hyperland is a 50 minute long Documentary film about Hypertext and surrounding technologies written by Douglas Adams and produced by Starship Titanic is a Computer game designed by Douglas Adams and made by The Digital Village. h2g2 is a collaborative online encyclopedia project engaged in the construction of in its own words "an unconventional guide to life the universe and everything" The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Future was a four-part radio series hosted by Douglas Adams. Douglas Adams at the BBC is a three CD set released by BBC Audio in 2004 (ISBN 0-563-49404-2 The CD is again narrated by Simon Jones.

Tributes and honorifics

• There is an official appreciation society (fan club) named ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha after the sector of the galaxy in which The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy says the planet Earth is located. ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha is the official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Appreciation Society and is named after the Galactic Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha where
• 18610 Arthurdent is a small main belt asteroid. 18610 Arthurdent is a small main belt Asteroid. It was discovered by Felix Hormuth on February 7, 1998. The asteroid belt is the region of the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the Planets Mars and Jupiter. Asteroids, sometimes called Minor planets or planetoids', are bodies—primarily of the inner Solar System —that are smaller than planets but Felix Hormuth discovered it on 7 February 1998. Events 457 - Leo I becomes emperor of the Byzantine Empire. 1074 - Battle of Montesarchio in which the Prince Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) It is named after Arthur Dent, the bewildered hero of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The name was officially published and announced by the Minor Planet Center of the International Astronomical Union on either 9 May or 10 May 2001 (accounts differ) - a day or two before Adams' death. The Minor Planet Center operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO which is part of the Center for Astrophysics (CfA along with the Harvard Events 1457 BC - Battle of Megiddo (15th century BC between Thutmose III and a large Canaanite coalition under the King of Events 1291 - Scottish Nobles recognize the authority of Edward I of England. Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar.
• On 25 January 2005, it was announced the asteroid with preliminary designation 2001 DA₄₂ had been named 25924 Douglasadams in his honour. Events 41 - After a night of negotiation Claudius is accepted as Roman Emperor by the Senate Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. 25924 Douglasadams is an Asteroid. It was named for novelist Douglas Adams; its Provisional designation of 2001 DA42 references the year of his It was chosen because it referenced the year of Adams' death, his initials and the number "42". The Answer to Life the Universe and Everything is numeric in Douglas Adams ' series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. ^[45]
• Every 25 May, Towel Day is celebrated in recognition of Adams. Events 1085 - Alfonso VI of Castile takes Toledo Spain back from the Moors. Towel Day is celebrated every May 25 as a Tribute by fans of the late author Douglas Adams. ^[46]
• In various British Universities, notably Cambridge, Oxford, York and Exeter, student societies, known as a "Douglas Adams Society", or "DougSoc" for short, were formed to honour the spirit engendered in Adams' works. The University of Cambridge (often Cambridge University) located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the The University of Oxford (informally "Oxford University" or simply "Oxford" located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England is the The University of York is a Campus university in the city of York, England. The University of Exeter (usually abbreviated as Exon for post-nominals) is a University in the South West of A student society or student organization is an Organization, operated by Students at a University, whose membership normally consists only of The Douglas Adams Society, or DougSoc for short is the name given to a student society formed at various British universities to honour the At Cambridge, the appreciation group was called the Cambridge University Life, the Universe and Everything Society (CULUES)^[47][48]
• On May 17, 2001 MIT students hung a banner reading "So long and thanks for all the wit" and a towel. Events 1521 - Edward Stafford 3rd Duke of Buckingham, is executed for Treason. Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. A towel is a piece of absorbent fabric or Paper used for drying or wiping This hack was not taken down for an entire day. Hack (technology slang|Roof and tunnel hackingAn MIT hack is defined as a clever benign and ethical prank or practical joke at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ^[49]
• Deep Thought is a chess computer developed by IBM and named after the fictional computer in the The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Deep Thought was a Computer designed to play chess Deep Thought was initially developed at Carnegie Mellon University and later at IBM.
• Richard Dawkins' book The God Delusion is dedicated to Adams. Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL (born 26 March 1941 is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist, and Popular science The God Delusion is a 2006 bestselling non-fiction book by British biologist Richard Dawkins, holder of the Charles Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding
• The British pop-funk group Level 42 took the numeric part of their name from Deep Thought's answer to the meaning of life, the universe and everything from Adams' books, adding the 'Level' part "to pad it out. Level 42 are an English Pop rock and Jazz-funk band. The group had a number of worldwide and UK hits during the 1980s and 1990s and have "
• The 2005 DVD release of the Doctor Who serial City of Death includes the documentary "Paris in the Springtime. Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. City of Death is a serial in the British Science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four " Written by Jonathan Morris and produced by Ed Stradling, the documentary pays tribute in some detail to Adams' contributions to the hit BBC series, and includes excerpts from two interviews with Adams himself conducted by Kevin Davies, who had worked as an animator on the 1981 BBC Hitch Hikers' TV series . Jonathan Morris was born in Taunton England in 1973 He is an author principally known for writing various kinds of Doctor Who spin-off material Ed Stradling (born 1972 in Cardiff Wales) is a freelance TV/video producer whose most notable work is The Doctor Who Years[http //www The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, was a BBC television adaptation of Douglas Adams 's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy broadcast in January In 2007, Adams' first Doctor Who serial, The Pirate Planet was included in the BBC/2|entertain DVD release of The Key to Time. The Pirate Planet is a serial in the British Science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in In both the original run and since the 2005 revival long-running British science fiction television programme Doctor Who has featured a number This included another documentary, Parrot Fashion, produced Davies himself and featuring archive material of Adams, along with anecdotes from cast and crew, Adams' half-brother James Thrift and his friend and biographer Nick Webb.
• St John's College, Cambridge awards an annual "Douglas Adams Prize" for a humorous piece of writing^[50]. St John's College, an institution known formally as The Master Fellows and Scholars of the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge is a Not to be confused with the Adams Prize in mathematics, also from St John's. The Adams Prize is awarded each year by the Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge and St John's College to a young UK based mathematician
• Citizens of Portland, Oregon are petitioning the city to rename 42nd Avenue to Douglas Adams Boulevard^[51]. Portland is a city located in the Northwestern United States, near the Confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers
• The Black Library novel "Fulgrim" written by Graham McNeill, contains a passage saying ". . . Improbably the ship The Heart of Gold was destroyed. . . ", a direct reference to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and its infinite improbability drive powered ship The Heart of Gold.

See also

• h2g2
• Towel Day
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Future, Adams' final project for BBC Radio 4 before his death. h2g2 is a collaborative online encyclopedia project engaged in the construction of in its own words "an unconventional guide to life the universe and everything" Towel Day is celebrated every May 25 as a Tribute by fans of the late author Douglas Adams. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Future was a four-part radio series hosted by Douglas Adams.
• 42 puzzle, the 42 Puzzle is a game devised by Douglas Adams in 1994 for the United States series of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books. The 42 Puzzle is a game devised by Douglas Adams in 1994 for the United States series of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books

Notes

External links

• Douglas Adams' official web site, established by him, and still operated by The Digital Village. The Digital Village ( TDV) was a digital media company based in Covent Garden, London WC2 in the United Kingdom.
• Douglas Adams' .mac homepage
• 1983, 1989 interviews with Douglas Adams by Don Swaim at Wired for Books. Don Swaim (born 1936 is an American journalist and broadcaster. Wired for Books is an online educational project of the WOUB Center for Public Media at Ohio University in Athens Ohio.
• Parrots, the Universe and Everything, 87 min talk at University of California Santa Barbara, 2001 (RealAudio)
• Douglas Adams speech at Digital Biota 2 (1998) (The audio of the speech)
• Guardian Books "Author Page", with profile and links to further articles.
• Douglas Adams at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Douglas Adams at the Internet Book List
• Douglas Adams at the Internet Book Database of Fiction
• Douglas Adams at the Internet Movie Database
• Douglas Adams biography and credits at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
• Douglas Adams — Rotten. The British Film Institute ( BFI) is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to encourage the development of the arts of film television screenonline is a Web site devoted to the history of British film and television, and to Social history as revealed by film and television com library article.
• Douglas Adams & his Computer – An article about his Mac IIfx
• Photo of Adams' grave
• Douglas Adams with Pink Floyd

Persondata
NAME	Adams, Douglas Noël
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series
DATE OF BIRTH	March 11, 1952(1952-03-11)
PLACE OF BIRTH	Cambridge, England
DATE OF DEATH	May 11, 2001
PLACE OF DEATH	Santa Barbara, California

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy series Events 1425 BC - Thutmose III, Pharaoh of Egypt, dies (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty Year 1952 ( MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The city of Cambridge (ˈkeɪmbrɪdʒ is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England Events 330 - Byzantium is renamed ''Nova Roma'' during a dedication ceremony but is more popularly referred to as Constantinople Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Santa Barbara is a city in Santa Barbara County California, United States.

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