I really enjoyed this work though, ok you could argue that it's not his best writing but there is something I think more involved with this book. You are not just getting a mans talent for creating a story but seeing his talent for observing life around him and writing it down. I think this book offers a different view of Adams' writing and lets us see what he held close to his heart. When I was reading this book I couldn't help but think that in some way I was getting to understand in a small way what he was about, he loved technology but also had a great love of animals and the conservation of them. This is a book that lets you have a piece of Adams' mind and lets explore the way he thought.

Whether you are a fan of Adams or not this is still a very interesting book and there is no denying that this guy was hugely intelligent but also a very caring person and this book helps to convey all those things and more.


The Salmon of Doubt   January 22, 2004
 4 out of 6 found this review helpful

This book is a biographical collection of extracts from Douglas Adams' work including, articles, correspondance and an unfinished draft from book he was writing at the time of his untimely death.

Its main appeal will be to established fans and they will not be disappointed, but the intelligence and wit on display should appeal to anyone with an interest in writing, technology, morality, religion, quantum mechanics, endangered animals or the world around them in general.

If you are new to DNA I hope you will read this book and be inspired to go and read all his other stuff (its all good).


Atheism to Zaphod   October 15, 2003
 18 out of 22 found this review helpful

Memorials, no matter how well done, are sad affairs. They are necessarily incomplete, usually being but pointers into a richer past. They trigger memories which quickly dominate your awareness, pushing aside the memorial. A writer's monument is best done in a book using his unknown or unpublished material accompanied by the usual accolades. This book follows the standard pattern, with several testimonials bracing Adams' own work. It's a successful application of the formula. Necessarily, it's incomplete. Adams was too gigantic to be portrayed in a limited collection - only a definitive biography will achieve that.

In structure, the book follows one of his titles, being sectioned into "Life," The Universe," and "And Everything." "Life" is his - from the irony of being born with the initials DNA only months before Watson and Crick explained the structure of the molecule [and both at Cambridge!] through school years in short pants, to marching to Kilamanjaro in a rhino costume. The why of the march has eluded too many readers. In "The Universe" we encounter Adams' expanding world. Unlike some writers, he dotes on computers. The Internet opens doors to exciting new places and to further inspire his writing. His "rabid atheism" is queried, and his forthright responses should be required reading for many people. Although it truly belongs in the "Life" section, the essay "Cookies" demonstrates Adams' humanity as strongly as anything he's written. Then, in "And Everything," some fiction emerges, including a sketch on a young Zaphod Beeblebrox. Zaphod's moral roots are exposed as are some of our own.

A potential Dirk Gently novel, under this book's title, is provided as the concluding portion. Dirk Gently was Adams' mechanism for examining life as Hitchhiker's was for looking at science. Adams, like his contemporary Terry Pratchett, defies categorization. He didn't write "sci-fi" although that's where you always find his books. Dirk Gently's stories aren't "fantasy" although some pretty fantastic things occur. Like Pratchett, Adams uses his stories to display his insight into the human condition. Again, like Pratchett, Adams presents these reflections with captivating wit. Dirk Gently novels are never fully snared in one reading, and even this partially finished effort rewards your return.

The Foreword advises you not to "bolt this whole" by reading it in one go. Heed that advice. It's all good medicine, but it tastes even better in small doses. Others have rejected the advice and quaffed SoD to their discomfort. But if you sample bits a little at a time, even randomly, you will be properly introduced to one of the great humourists. Whether you are new to Adams or a dedicated fan, there is good fare here. Use as directed for best results.