Synopses & Reviews
Like all good science fiction, much of the cult classic
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series drew on scientific fact. Douglas Adams was a science and technology enthusiast and his books were inspired by--and sometimes, prefigured--many of the great scientific debates of our time.
The Science of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a lighthearted, accessible and informative tour of the real cutting-edge research behind this much-loved classic, including space tourism, parallel universes, instant translation devices, sentient computers, and more.
Review
"FOUR STARS: If you want to find out why the number 42 is so important catch the new movie. For a look at the facts it's based on you won't find many books more entertaining than this"--
Flipside Magazine"Adopting Adams' witty, punchy style, Hanlon's guide is a fun and vivid read. The science twinkles a little more than usual in such a zany setting...he tackles a wide range of cutting-edge topics with depth and authority."--Nature
"Hanlon has a remarkable ability to simplify complicated concepts and make the vast numbers employed in modern science manageable for the reader. His light touch and ear for metaphor help transform difficult concepts into language that's understandable."--Chemical & Engineering News
"Hanlon has produced a very good book - readable, concise and easy flowing. If he continues writing in this informed and competent manner, it won't be long before he's as popular as Hawking or Dawkins."--SFCrowsnest
"Good stuff...It's great the way Hanlon flits from one topic to another, weaving a web of scientific and technological ideas...his light style is ideally fitted to exploring the products of Douglas Adams' mind."--www.popularscience.co.uk"Enlightening and thought provoking--like having a pint with Einstein, Stephen Hawking and Johnny Ball." --Daily Mail
About the Author
Michael Hanlon is the Science Editor at
The Daily Mail and the author of
The Worlds of Galileo and
The Real Mars. He lives in the United Kingdom.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements * Introduction * Where Are the Aliens? * Deep Thought * The Existence of God * The Restaurant at the End of the Universe * The Big Bang Burger Bar * The Infinite Improbability Drive and Other Unlikely Ways to Get Around * Teleportation * The Babel Fish * Time Travel * Meat with a Clean Conscience * The Total Perspective Vortex and Artificial Universes * Parallel Worlds * The Whale That Came from Nowhere * Forty-two--Life, the Universe, and Everything