Hitchhiker: a Biography of Douglas Adams [Hardcover]

M. J. Simpson (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Charles & Co.; First U.S. Edition edition (2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0340824883
• ISBN-13: 978-0340824887
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 5.9 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,121,091 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mostly Harmless, but also Barely Adequate, April 27, 2005

By 

Vladimir Levin (Calgary, AB, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hitchhiker (Paperback)

It's clear that M. J. Simpson knows a lot about the bare facts of Douglas Adams' life, but there is little heart or deep understanding in this biography. Because Douglas Adams is an intrinsically interesting character, the book is still enjoyable enough to read for the anecdotes as well as for its descriptions of Douglas' projects. I found it interesting to read about the many failures or quasi failures that followed the publication of the Hitchiker's books. It just goes to show that talent is often not enough and that success is relative. The author seems to have a strangely forensic delight in finding inconsistencies in different versions of some of the anecdotes surrounding Douglas' life... Which I suppose may be of interest to some, but for me that wasn't really something I was terribly interested in anyway. Amazingly, even John Lloyd's forward is a bit critical: He writes, "The initial conditions in which Douglas was saddled were rather more trying, I suspect, than the author of this book has been able either to discern or to put in print."

John Lloyd's forward is really quite wonderful, and I would gladly read more material from his hand about "The Big Man." As for this book, I'd say if you enjoy Mr. Adams' books and you're looking for some moderately enjoyable bed-time reading, this isn't such a bad choice.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Astonishingly Complete, November 11, 2004

By 

Joshua G. Patterson "JGDP" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hitchhiker: A Biography of Douglas Adams (Hardcover)

What's most impressive about this volume is how often it is forced to go against conventional wisdom. Through astonishingly complete research, Simpson manages to root out dozens of stories Adams told about his work and then provide the true story behind Adams' half-truths. In all, a wonderfully assembled timeline of an interesting person.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Tall on tales, short on insight, August 30, 2004

By 

Owen Fenby (San Francisco) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hitchhiker: A Biography of Douglas Adams (Hardcover)

How ironic that a writer whose Achilles Heel was character development should have a biography that suffers from the same malaise. I don't think I've ever finished such a long biography with so little insight into the inner workings of the subject. This book is remarkably shallow, spending page after page discussing Adams' projects but precious little space analyzing who Douglas Adams was and what made him tick. Even non sci fi fans are familiar with the chatty, insecure, name-dropping public persona Adams portrayed, but I was hoping this book would look far beyond that. Sadly, it does not, and thus showcases a man who is as one-dimensional and underdeveloped as the characters who inhabit his novels.