The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy is Published

Space On The Bookshelf Don’t panic.

The two most important words in the galaxy. And the two words that were emblazoned across the back cover of The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, Douglas Adams beloved cult novel that was first published on this day in 1979. Based on the BBC Radio comedy of the same name, Hitchhikers was the first in a five book ‘trilogy’ that followed the adventures of Arthur Dent, a human who managed to survive as the Earth is destroyed to make way for an intergalactic bypass. The book was a massive success on publication, selling 250,000 copies after three months while Hitchhikers and its sequels have sold over 16 million copies worldwide to date. It has been turned into a successful BBC television series and a Hollywood movie, as well as introducing the importance of towels and the notion that the number 42 as the answer to the meaning of life into conventional life. And its where Radiohead got the inspiration for Paranoid Android. So there’s that as well.