Don't Panic: Neil Gaiman celebrates Douglas Adams

26 November 2009

John Howell

First published in 1988, the biography Don't Panic: Douglas Adams and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has been revised and refreshed to cover the feature film (unfortunately not as successful as fans hoped), Adams' untimely death in 2001, and the publication of the sixth novel by Eoin Colfer, And Another Thing. It also covers the 30th anniversary of the novel that kick-started Adams' rise to stardom, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Hitchhiker's was 30 years old in October 2009.

Written with style and flair by acclaimed author Neil Gaiman, the biography touches on  Adams' personal life, describes how the different versions of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy came into being (including the radio series, the books, and the BBC TV show), reveals his perfectionist writing style, procrastinations, and even the little known Hitchhiker's computer game.

Short but dense and packed with great material, Don't Panic includes letters to Adams from a variety of sources, early comedy sketches, alternative versions of his scripts, material from his notes, deleted scenes, the original Hitchhiker's synopsis, how he came to work as a script writer for Doctor Who, and plenty of excellent quotes from the popular British actors, comedians, radio and TV people associated with his life. Douglas Adams himself referred to the original edition of Don't Panic as "the most outstandingly brilliant book to have been written about The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy since this morning".

As it may have been some time since you read anything by Douglas Adams, here are a few quotes to remind you of his wit and brilliance. From The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:

"He felt that his whole life was some kind of dream and he sometimes wondered whose it was and whether they were enjoying it."

"Humans are not proud of their ancestors, and rarely invite them round to dinner."

"In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move."

Regarding his inability to meet writing deadlines set by his publishers for the Hitchhiker's sequels:

"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by."

If you're a fan and even if you bought the original, the updated Don't Panic: Douglas Adams and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a must buy. It's available now.

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