- Paperback: 432 pages
- Publisher: Justin, Charles and Company; Revised and Updated Edition edition (Jun 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1932112359
- ISBN-13: 978-1932112351
- Product Dimensions: 20.6 x 14 x 2.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,195,446 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Amazon.co.uk Review
The untimely death of Douglas Adams was a sharp reminder of what a protean talent (and remarkable character) the man was. As MJ Simpson's Hitchhiker: A Biography of Douglas Adams reminds us, when The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy appeared as a radio series, few could guess that its gifted author would, in the space of several books (and adaptations in various other media), single-handedly inaugurate a whole new genre: the sardonically funny, outrageous science fiction parody that combined the sharp-edged sensibility of Monty Python and a marvellously jaded view of British life (taking in some hilarious philosophical asides along the way). Many writers continue to be influenced by Adams, and a new film of Hitchhiker's Guide has been much discussed. So the time is right for this exhaustive and sympathetic biography.
Although several such books are in the pipeline, genre specialist MJ Simpson (a cofounder of the glossy SF magazine SFX) is the perfect chronicler of a strange and eventful life. Adams' quirky personality comes brilliantly to life (thanks to Simpson's impressive research, which he began before Adams' death). We are taken back to his auspicious beginnings as a comic talent in the Cambridge Footlights and through his phenomenal later success (not ignoring the man's pathological inability to meet a deadline). Simpson's writing style is never academic, and sounds the same wry and witty note as his subject effortlessly found. By interviewing a host of friends and associates (and consulting exclusive archives), Simpson paints a picture of this complex and fascinating man that is unlikely to be beaten for quite some time. --Barry Forshaw --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Evening Standard, 10th March 2003
'M.J. Simpson has written an engaging and unbiased study of his subject, who emerges as a shy and frequently distressed genius.'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The problem with a book about a brilliant writer is that you expect it to be brilliantly written and this isn’t. What it is however, is a fantastically well researched history of Douglas Adams writing of his books. The last fifty pages are references to sources (including internet forum postings). It’s more of an academic work than a good read.
I really enjoyed it but I’m not sure many people will. This is a book for the real hardcore fan. The kind of person who understands the reference “I just wondered how he knew they were size nine”.
As a result it assumes you’ve read, marked and inwardly digested all the books and radio series, I listened to the radio series from the first transmission and while never enough of a fan to attend a convention or wear a silly suit and make ‘beep beep’ noises, have actively sought out everything Douglas Adams wrote. Yet without having read around the subject I don’t know what made the Kamikaze sketch so funny and I felt a bit left out.
It makes depressing reading, MJ Simpson is too close to the subject and takes Adams’ brilliance as a given and there are few quotes or examples to enjoy, instead it’s a 300 page story of missed deadlines and displacement activity which is an uncomfortable way to learn about a hero.
It’s a cliché to say that you laughed and cried at a book, but with The Salmon of Doubt (Adams posthumous collection) I did both and had to stop to compose myself. It’s a much better tribute to the man.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I read the book three or four years ago. Like a lot of other reviewers I found it boring and pedantic and obsessed with finding out the precise number of computers Douglas Adams owned.
I picked it off my shelf a week ago. I wanted to reread it before I decided whether to keep it or get rid of it. I made it to page 30, then I had to give up. It is as boring and pedantic as I remember. What I also recall now is how oddly pointless the book seems. Simpson way of relating facts and anecdotes reminds me of some horrible old aunt telling stories about 'Our Douglas'. "Did you know that our Douglas played in the school play? They mentioned his name in the school paper." "Really, Auntie?" "Yes! Oh, he is such a good boy. Did I ever tell you about the time he had to wear short trousers and he was so embarrassed, you wouldn't believe it." And so on and so on. At no point do I get the feeling that there is a coherent story being told; it's just a bunch of facts piled on top of each other untill the whole thing tips over.
To sum it up, I'm getting rid of this book and I wouldn't recommend anyone getting it in the first place. If you are insanely curious about Douglas Adam's life, then I still recommending saving the money and just borrowing it from a library.
I picked it off my shelf a week ago. I wanted to reread it before I decided whether to keep it or get rid of it. I made it to page 30, then I had to give up. It is as boring and pedantic as I remember. What I also recall now is how oddly pointless the book seems. Simpson way of relating facts and anecdotes reminds me of some horrible old aunt telling stories about 'Our Douglas'. "Did you know that our Douglas played in the school play? They mentioned his name in the school paper." "Really, Auntie?" "Yes! Oh, he is such a good boy. Did I ever tell you about the time he had to wear short trousers and he was so embarrassed, you wouldn't believe it." And so on and so on. At no point do I get the feeling that there is a coherent story being told; it's just a bunch of facts piled on top of each other untill the whole thing tips over.
To sum it up, I'm getting rid of this book and I wouldn't recommend anyone getting it in the first place. If you are insanely curious about Douglas Adam's life, then I still recommending saving the money and just borrowing it from a library.
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book does an admirable job at uncovering the truth behind many Adams legends. I find it odd that so many reviewers perceive this as a negative, as if it ought to be a biographer's job to perpetuate myths instead of to investigate them. I think they fear that Adams or his legacy will be somehow diminished by the revelations. They are wrong. After reading Simpson's "Hitchhiker" I was struck with a renewed admiration for Adams. Here was a human being, saddled, we now realise, with exactly the same vanities and foibles as the rest of us, and yet who, despite this, gave us a new and funny way of looking at the world. It's said that fans of Paul McCartney hear the same anecdotes so many times that they number them and play bingo every time Macca is interviewed. The same could be true of fans of Douglas Adams. It is therefore refreshing to find some serious analysis of the facts behind DNA's life.
Compared to Nick Webb's "Wish You Were Here", Simpson's book comes across as being more for the true fan than the general reader. Webb, having access to Adams's private files, is better on the details of his subject's lovelife, but, despite being a friend of Adams, shows a worrying ignorance about the works that made his name. For instance, Webb thinks the middle-management people repopulating prehistoric Earth are themselves from a future Earth and that this is some wacky Adams paradox. He's got this badly wrong. They're from an entirely different planet (Golgafrincham as anyone who's read the books can tell you) and the fact that Webb doesn't seem to know or care seems at best bizarre and at worst sloppy, and where it is accurate it often retreads ground from the excellent book "Don't Panic" by Gaiman et al. As the Hitchhiker fanclub's archivist, and stickler for accuracy to boot, you know Simpson's facts are going to be checked, and that what he tells you is not going to be some "definitively innacurate" fairytale, but as close to the truth as he can get.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A lifeless life
We never met, drat the bad luck. In our first encounter, Douglas was flashing his bum at me as he ran naked into the sea, shucking fistfuls of money in all directions. Read more
Published on 16 Jun 2007 by Stephen A. Haines
Based on a negative agenda and utterly lacking in insight
Simpson says at the beginning of this book and towards the end that he doesn't think Douglas Adams was a liar. But the vast bulk of the book doesn't support this qualification. Read more
Published on 31 Jan 2007 by ABQChris
Hell hath no fury like a fanboy scorned
M J Simpson's unauthorised biography would appear to be thorough - atleast, anyone who has read Simpson's previous writings on the same subjectwill find the usual shopping list of... Read more
Published on 26 April 2004
Worthwhile Effort
I'm not actually that big a Douglas Adams fan. Of course, the radio series are truly inspired, but, after that, there is, for the most part, a definite feeling about Adams's life... Read more
Published on 20 Jan 2004 by P. M. Cray
A voyage around Douglas Adams
This book provides a fascinating insight into the man whose success was almost a precursor to J. K. Rowling - a writer of a cult book series (in this case originally a radio... Read more
Published on 13 Oct 2003 by B. M. Clegg
Biography or text book?
I love Douglas Adams's work. I read & re-read & enjoy myself immensely every time. I believe that would make me a fan. Read more
Published on 2 Sep 2003 by MissJay
Wishy-washy, and pointless
Having already covered the life of works of Douglas Adams TWICE before (with the Pocket Essentials book, and his revision of Neil Gaiman's Don't Panic), Mr Simpson doesn't quite... Read more
Published on 20 July 2003
Superb summary of Doug's life & work.
This is a superb summary of Douglas Adams life & work, superceding earlier apocraphyl & wildly inaccurate accounts of Doug's life. Read more
Published on 13 July 2003 by Russell Devlin
A Better Class of Reader
I was amused by the reviewer on this site who commented that if "...you want to know about the [sic] Douglas Adams and haven't read either this or Neil Gaiman's book yet, then get... Read more
Published on 19 May 2003 by Eric Lemon
Haven't read much Douglas Adams, but will now!
I am no major fan of Douglas Adams, but I know a good bit about his life, having gleaned considerably amounts as a member of ZZ9, the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy... Read more
Published on 12 May 2003 by James Bacon
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