"It's all devastatingly true — except the bits that are lies."
— Douglas Adams

Don't Panic celebrates the life of an ape-descended human called Douglas Adams who, in a field in Innsbruck in 1971, had an idea.

This is also the story of what that idea became: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy — the original radio series which started it all, and the five-book "trilogy," the TV series, almost-film, computer game, towel, and website that followed.

Acclaimed author Neil Gaiman also tells the whole story of Liff, the Universe of Dirk Gently, and everything else Douglas ever worked on, including his posthumous collection The Salmon of Doubt. As Douglas himself said, it is "certainly the most outstandingly brilliant book to have been written about The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy since this morning."

Completely updated, with a new foreword by Neil Gaiman.

"Hilarious fun...a source of much delightful trivia." Publishers Weekly

"Deserves as much cult success as the Hitchhiker's books themselves." Time Out

"Full of fun...and much more information than most books of this type." Science Fiction Chronicle

"Droll and informative...indispensable." American Library Association

"Indispensable...a treasure trove of quotes and anecdotes." Locus

Told in the same fanciful, irreverent style as the Hitchhiker trilogy, with scraps of scripts, letters and comments from Adams, Don't Panic is the perfect companion to one of the most successful series in publishing history.

Upon publication Don't Panic established itself as the definitive companion to Adams's life and work. This new revised edition comes up to date, covering his later work and untimely death in 2001, and including a new introduction by Neil Gaiman.

Acclaimed author Neil Gaiman celebrates the life of Douglas Adams who, in a field in Innsbruck in 1971, had an idea that became The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy — the radio series that started it all, the five book "trilogy," the TV series, almost-film, and everything that followed. Don't Panic also tells the story of the other projects Douglas worked on, including his posthumous collection The Salmon of Doubt.

The definitive companion to the life and work of Douglas Adams who, in a field in Innsbruck in 1971, had an idea that became "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". It was the BBC radio series that started it all but Gaiman also tells the story of the other products that Adams worked on.

It's all devastatingly true - except the bits that are lies. - Douglas Adams

Don't Panic celebrates the life of an ape-descended human called Douglas Adams who, in a field in Innsbruck in 1971, had an idea.

This is also the story of what that idea became: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - the original radio series which started it all, and the five book trilogy', the TV series, almost-film, computer game, towel and website that followed. Acclaimed author Neil Gaiman also tells the whole story of Liff, the Universe of Dirk Gently, and everything else Douglas ever worked on.

Neil Gaiman is one of the most critically acclaimed contemporary comics writers and a bestselling novelist. His work includes the multi-award-winning Sandman graphic novel series, the television series Neverwhere, and the novels Stardust, the New York Times bestseller and Hugo Award-winner American Gods, and, most recently, Coraline. He is currently writing the screenplay for a movie adaptation of his graphic novel Death: The High Cost of Living, and has recently completed Sandman: Endless Nights, his first Sandman collection since the series ended in 1998.