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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Douglas Adams Live in Concert
On a hot night in August 1995 Douglas Adams gave a barnstorming performance to an invited audience at the Almeida Theatre in London. This compact disc is a record of that remarkable event. Douglas gives dramatic solo performances of episodes and passages from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, and Life, the Universe and Everything. Including: How to Fly! Arthur and the Irrational Sofa and much, much, .....more
MP3 Book
First published January 1, 1994
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About the author
Douglas Adams
120 books23.5k followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Douglas Noel Adams was an English author, humourist, and screenwriter, best known for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (HHGTTG). Originally a 1978 BBC radio comedy, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy developed into a "trilogy" of five books that sold more than 15 million copies in his lifetime. It was further developed into a television series, several stage plays, comics, a video game, and a 2005 feature film. Adams's contribution to UK radio is commemorated in The Radio Academy's Hall of Fame.
Adams also wrote Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (1987) and The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul (1988), and co-wrote The Meaning of Liff (1983), The Deeper Meaning of Liff (1990) and Last Chance to See (1990). He wrote two stories for the television series Doctor Who, co-wrote City of Death (1979), and served as script editor for its seventeenth season. He co-wrote the sketch "Patient Abuse" for the final episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus. A posthumous collection of his selected works, including the first publication of his final (unfinished) novel, was published as The Salmon of Doubt in 2002.
Adams was a self-proclaimed "radical atheist", an advocate for environmentalism and conservation, and a lover of fast cars, technological innovation, and the Apple Macintosh.
Douglas Noel Adams was an English author, humourist, and screenwriter, best known for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (HHGTTG). Originally a 1978 BBC radio comedy, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy developed into a "trilogy" of five books that sold more than 15 million copies in his lifetime. It was further developed into a television series, several stage plays, comics, a video game, and a 2005 feature film. Adams's contribution to UK radio is commemorated in The Radio Academy's Hall of Fame.
Adams also wrote Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (1987) and The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul (1988), and co-wrote The Meaning of Liff (1983), The Deeper Meaning of Liff (1990) and Last Chance to See (1990). He wrote two stories for the television series Doctor Who, co-wrote City of Death (1979), and served as script editor for its seventeenth season. He co-wrote the sketch "Patient Abuse" for the final episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus. A posthumous collection of his selected works, including the first publication of his final (unfinished) novel, was published as The Salmon of Doubt in 2002.
Adams was a self-proclaimed "radical atheist", an advocate for environmentalism and conservation, and a lover of fast cars, technological innovation, and the Apple Macintosh.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
August 11, 2016
I was mislead by the way the library has this cataloged into thinking I was listening to an audio version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
I thoroughly enjoyed this reading of random stories from Douglas Adams collection, by Douglas Adams himself.
I haven't read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy yet, but will be moving it up on my list after hearing this.
I thoroughly enjoyed this reading of random stories from Douglas Adams collection, by Douglas Adams himself.
I haven't read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy yet, but will be moving it up on my list after hearing this.
December 10, 2025
The Hitchhiker's series is one of my favorites (if not THE favorite), and having Douglas Adams read pieces of them live was absolutely fantastic. I love hearing authors present their books the way they were intended, and this is the best of the best. If only it were the entire set.
Update: I found, in the depths of the internet, that Douglas Adams HAS read the entire series for audiobooks. They weren't all that easy to find, though, which is absolutely beyond me. I would definitely recommend reading Hitchhiker's, AND listening to the Douglas Adams' audio.
Update: I found, in the depths of the internet, that Douglas Adams HAS read the entire series for audiobooks. They weren't all that easy to find, though, which is absolutely beyond me. I would definitely recommend reading Hitchhiker's, AND listening to the Douglas Adams' audio.
November 1, 2017
I'm not actually a fan of the book, and recently watched the goofy movie, but only just really appreciated the genius of it when I heard Douglas Adams read some of his own work. He's hilarious!
February 12, 2022
It's great to hear Adams himself relate some episodes from his works, which he does with little elaboration. I think the only footnote he offers is that the rock star Hotblack Desiato, who is reported as "spending a year dead for tax reasons", has a name used with approval of an actual firm. So many Adams fans called the firm, however, that they had to change their name.
The first piece, of which are delivered solo is Chapter 1 from Life, the Universe and Everything:
From the same work, Dent is confronted with the being has has unwittingly killed time and time again:
In conclusion, there is "one last short piece" from The Restaurant at the End of the Universe where Marvin faces a Frogstar battle tank at the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy offices in Ursa Minor Beta.
The first piece, of which are delivered solo is Chapter 1 from Life, the Universe and Everything:
The regular early morning yell of horror was the sound of Arthur Dent waking up and suddenly remembering where he was.
It wasn’t just that the cave was cold, it wasn’t just that it was damp and smelly. It was that the cave was in the middle of Islington and there wasn’t a bus due for two million years.
Time is the worst place, so to speak, to get lost in, as Arthur Dent could testify, having been lost in both time and space a good deal. At least being lost in space kept you busy.
...
From the same work, Dent is confronted with the being has has unwittingly killed time and time again:
...With a sudden ping, there was a rabbit there in the black labyrinth with him, a huge, monstrously, hideously soft and lovable rabbit - an image again, but one on which every single soft and lovable hair seemed like a real and single thing growing in its soft and lovable coat. Arthur was startled to see his own reflection in its soft and lovable unblinking and extremely huge brown eyes.
"Born in darkness, - rumbled the voice, - raised in darkness. One morning I poked my head for the first time into the bright new world and got it split open by what felt suspiciously like some primitive instrument made of flint.
"Made by you, Arthur Dent, and wielded by you. Rather hard as I recall.
"You turned my skin into a bag for keeping interesting stones in. I happen to know that because in my next life I came back as a fly again and you swatted me. Again. Only this time you swatted me with the bag you'd made of my previous skin.
- Arthur Dent, you are not merely a cruel and heartless man, you are also staggeringly tactless"....
In conclusion, there is "one last short piece" from The Restaurant at the End of the Universe where Marvin faces a Frogstar battle tank at the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy offices in Ursa Minor Beta.
December 6, 2017
It was fantastic to hear Douglas Adams himself read excerpts from his hilarious Hitchhiker's books! It makes me want to go back and re-read all of them again!
March 24, 2022
One of the most amazing things is to have your favorite book read by the author. Douglas Adams is the best performer, and I’ll never hear some of these passages the same!
June 23, 2023
I was mislead by the library app thinking this was the book. However, I'm not upset about it. It was fun to listen to this reading. It definitely made me want to read the books more.
March 10, 2023
I checked out the audio book from the library and it was great. Douglas Adam's reads excerps for an hour. It is hilarious.
June 19, 2018
Even though this is just Douglas Adams reading a few short bits from the series, it is well worth an hour or so of your time. Adams puts on quite a bit for the characters and I can imagine being there live would have been quite the treat. His brand of humor is brilliantly improved when you hear him reading. Definitely worth the listen if you're a fan of Hitchhiker's Guide.
March 22, 2018
If you are looking for a novel with an uninspiring plot and an unrealistic setting, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe will fit your criteria, but you will still find no enjoyment in it.
As a genre, science fiction is generally able to dive into the realm of the divine and produce some inexplicable novels. Unsurprisingly, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe was unable to hold its prestige as a science fiction novel and instead falls into the category of an incomprehensible novel.
The plot is one of the largest failures of this series. It jumps around way to often with the characters escaping death by near seconds every time. If the reader has the audacity to read this novel, there is a good chance that they understand the probability of this happening is finitely close to zero. I would try to explain the general idea of the plot but it is simply impossible. For the entire first half of one of the five books, you believe there is one goal in their minds, however, you will soon find each one of the characters has a different intention which overly complicates the book.
From my reading, I could not find one remotely relevant theme. The title should give away that the main character is quite frankly a bum. He doesn’t have a home, is a freeloader, and kind of screws his friend over in the start. Not only is the main character completely selfish, but you will find the characters he meet to be self absorbed and bureaucratic. If the theme of following your dreams and living without a care is what the author was going for, he chose not only a very bad character set, but a near useless story line that leaves the reader stretching to find a theme.
If you want an entertaining book, you will want to search for another novel. After about the fiftieth page, the reader will be able to accurately predict the outcome of every conflict which will come in the next eight hundred. This result in a novel which captures the reader's attention early on in the novel but due to the sheer amount of repetition, makes the reader want to tear the novel in two. Even if the reader struggles through the eight hundred pages, he will be utterly disappointed when he realises how much of a waste of time it truly was.
As a genre, science fiction is generally able to dive into the realm of the divine and produce some inexplicable novels. Unsurprisingly, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe was unable to hold its prestige as a science fiction novel and instead falls into the category of an incomprehensible novel.
The plot is one of the largest failures of this series. It jumps around way to often with the characters escaping death by near seconds every time. If the reader has the audacity to read this novel, there is a good chance that they understand the probability of this happening is finitely close to zero. I would try to explain the general idea of the plot but it is simply impossible. For the entire first half of one of the five books, you believe there is one goal in their minds, however, you will soon find each one of the characters has a different intention which overly complicates the book.
From my reading, I could not find one remotely relevant theme. The title should give away that the main character is quite frankly a bum. He doesn’t have a home, is a freeloader, and kind of screws his friend over in the start. Not only is the main character completely selfish, but you will find the characters he meet to be self absorbed and bureaucratic. If the theme of following your dreams and living without a care is what the author was going for, he chose not only a very bad character set, but a near useless story line that leaves the reader stretching to find a theme.
If you want an entertaining book, you will want to search for another novel. After about the fiftieth page, the reader will be able to accurately predict the outcome of every conflict which will come in the next eight hundred. This result in a novel which captures the reader's attention early on in the novel but due to the sheer amount of repetition, makes the reader want to tear the novel in two. Even if the reader struggles through the eight hundred pages, he will be utterly disappointed when he realises how much of a waste of time it truly was.
May 22, 2023
What an amazing find! I was listening to the Live Performance in front of what sounds like a nightclub, replete with cocktail glass noises and audience spontaneous laughter! It’s so hilarious, performed by the Author himself, with little asides about names, ideas, and other things he decides to talk about. It’s out of order and has excerpts or complete chapters from whatever iteration he wanted to include of his books! Now I’m going to have to find out if he did any others. Too fun.
August 14, 2023
It's wonderful to hear Douglas Adams read from the various Hitchhiker's books. Despite his disclaimers about being unable to do voices, he still adds real character to the stories, and of course it was always his voice to begin with. It's not really a place I'd recommend starting with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but it's definitely a treat for anyone into the stories.
September 7, 2017
42 WORD REVIEW:
The greater part of this reading (or more accurately, performance) comes in the form of two long excerpts from Life, the Universe and Everything. Suddenly that which seems facetious on the page springs to life and we hear what Adams himself intended.
The greater part of this reading (or more accurately, performance) comes in the form of two long excerpts from Life, the Universe and Everything. Suddenly that which seems facetious on the page springs to life and we hear what Adams himself intended.
January 11, 2018
I listened to this via Audible.
If you're a fan of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, I highly recommend you give this a listen. Hearing my favorite characters as read by their creator brings new life to them and is a fantastic experience. My only complaint is that it was too short.
If you're a fan of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, I highly recommend you give this a listen. Hearing my favorite characters as read by their creator brings new life to them and is a fantastic experience. My only complaint is that it was too short.
August 13, 2018
I always enjoy hearing writers perform their works as they are allowed to infuse the humor in which they originally wrote the text. This performance was a delightful extension of the original title, which I explored thanks to the PBS Great American Read.
May 21, 2019
Douglas Adams himself, reading from H2G2. Does it get any better? Well, yes, I like the continuity of the books, but this is DA, having fun, and inviting you along. Yes, please.
'...and in alphabetical order.'
'...and in alphabetical order.'
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June 10, 2022Douglas Adams live performance was hysterical!! It's a little bit of everything. If you enjoyed the book, you will enjoy this piece.
If you haven't read the books, I would read first, then listen to this performance ~ it will add to the humor.
If you haven't read the books, I would read first, then listen to this performance ~ it will add to the humor.
January 15, 2024
My library mislabeled/miscategorized this and I thought this was the original book. I think if I was familiar with his writing this would be higher stars, and also if this was what I thought I was going to be reading 🤷♀️
April 17, 2018
An amazing performance! Great stories and great narration.
November 15, 2018
If I had known how funny it was, I would have read it ages ago!
April 16, 2019
Very funny. Science fiction. Part of a series. Entertaining and enjoyable . Easy to read.
October 8, 2019
This is a recording of a reading that Douglas Adams did back I 1995. It is a selection of bits from several of the books. You can hear the audience responses to different pieces while Adams is reading. It was a treat to listen to. The selections he read reminded me of why I liked the books all the years ago I read them and just might get me to read them again or listen to a complete audio of them one day. This isn’t the best thing for someone to listen to that has no knowledge of the books but if you have seen one of the movies then this might prod you into reading the books that they were based on.
April 22, 2020
This is a one hour recording of Douglas Adams reading excerpts from his Hitchhikers books. It made me happy to hear his voice again.
June 9, 2020
If you already own the audiobooks read by Douglas Adams, then this really is just duplication that only the most ardent fans would want: which is exactly why I bought it
January 26, 2022
Fun live reading of some of the book
March 18, 2022
A more accurate title would be "Author of Hitchhiker's Guide Live Performance of His Favorite Lines from 5 Publications"...this is NOT the audiobook of #1 in the Hitchhiker's Guide series.
September 26, 2022
Very fun, especially for anyone who hasn't listened to his narration of the audiobooks.
But there's no new ground tread here.
But there's no new ground tread here.
November 20, 2022
A nice listen. Really only for fans though.
August 14, 2023
This is actually a very abridged version of the book performed live by the author. It is an incredibly silly story delightfully presented and the perfect pick me up for a rough day.
March 15, 2024
This was so fun! Wish it was longer.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews