37 years ago a very excellent book got published. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. It has been available for a very long time, however If you don’t have it, you should really consider grabbing one! It is, after all, the best guide for anyone who is planning on travelling across the Universe. And the Universe is big. Bigger than anything you have ever seen before. So you want to make sure you have something that will help you find your way across the stars.

It was an instant classic, getting the fans attention way before it was published due to the popularity of the Original BBC Radio Series. Due to this, it was expected to have at least a small fan base, but poor Douglas could not even dream of the fame it brought to him.

At ‘Seacon 79’ He gave a talk on ‘Across the Galaxy with TARDIS and Thumb’ and He was pleasantly surprised by the turn-up. He was also listed for the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation but lost out to Superman. As Christopher Reeve accepted the award, he couldn’t help but point out that the whole thing was obviously fixed. His comment received cheers and loud shouts from the crowd. These were the first fans of the book, making themselves heard.

A few weeks later came the famous incident of the very famous signing He was put up to in London. His publisher, Pan Books arranged him a signing at the one-year-old store, Forbidden Planet, located on Denmark Street in Central London. As his cab was making its way to the venue however, they got into a terrible traffic jam. A jam, miles long, congesting the heart of London due to a bunch of freaks, clogging up the streets. Young people, punks and your everyday folks, some of them dressed in odd frocks. For the outsider, it seemed like they were up to some sort of a protest. However, as it turned out, this was just the turn-up for his signing event nearby. Needless to say the signing event had to go on for hours after the expected finishing time and He managed to be late from his dinner with Terry Jones too. That Terry Jones from Monty Python who was really keen to provide a splendid review of the book, that went like:

“Every Word is a gem… it’s only the order they’re put in that worries me.”

The book was sold in 250,000 by the end of the first three months and it continued to be popular up to these times.

Needless to say then the book is worthy for anyone’s attention who have not read it yet. But Who am I talking to? You read the book for surely. Probably heard the radio series and audio books, saw the TV Series and even the movie adaptation. We both know what happens in it so I will not go on to explain to you why this is such a fantastic book. We both know the reason why. And it never cease to amaze us, despite the multiple ways it is being transmitted into Outer Space.

However I shall urge you tonight to go and recommend it to a friend of yours. Try and get all those friends interested who did not read, heard or saw ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ yet. The birthday of this fantastic book should give you the perfect opportunity. Share along the post too so it would get the them hoopy froods thinking.

And Again, HAPPY BIRTHDAY You Magnificent Book, You!