“Every crease is a story.”
Open Library readers: 4.51 / 5 from 178 ratings. Separate from ratings here.Catalogue checked 2026-10-02.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is the first of six books in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy comedy science fiction "hexalogy" by Douglas Adams. The novel is an adaptation of the first four parts of Adams's radio series of the same name. The novel was first published in London on 12 October 1979. It sold 250,000 copies in the first three months.
The namesake of the novel is The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a fictional guide book for hitchhikers (inspired by the Hitch-hiker's Guide to Europe) written in the form of an encyclopaedia.
Rate this book
No ratings here yet. Read it? Leave your mark in the margin.
Gathering editions from Open Library…
Something tucked inside your copy?
A pressed flower, a ticket stub, an inscription on the flyleaf. Photograph it for Found in Books.
Send your copy travelling
Print a numbered bookplate, pass the book on, and follow where it goes next.
A few practical answers before choosing a copy.
Bibliographic source: Open LibraryThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is by Douglas Adams. The catalogue records its first publication in 1979. A later edition may have a different publication date on its copyright page.
Cheapest first, postage included where the seller lists it. From third-party sellers; we may earn a commission. Disclosure
The catalogue records 216 pages for a representative edition. Pagination varies with the publisher, format, type size and translation, so check the edition you intend to read.
Compare the publisher, publication date, language, format and ISBN in the editions section. If you need a particular translation or a matching book-club copy, confirm those details with the seller. A work-level page brings different editions together; its first-publication year does not identify your individual copy.
Check a copy's editionCreasy Spines ratings come from readers here. The separate Open Library score is 4.51 out of 5 from 178 ratings in our catalogue snapshot. It belongs to a different reader community and is not combined with our ratings.
Compare the current seller links on this page, including postage, condition and edition. Availability and asking prices can change. If the copy you need is missing, save a wanted search in Hunt List.
Look for a copyHitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Orion Publishing Group, Limited, 2023
ISBN 9781399617246
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Random House Publishing Group, 2021 / Ebook, 208 pp.
ISBN 9780307417138
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy : Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Book 1: 42nd Anniversary Edition
Pan Macmillan, 2020 / 224 pp.
ISBN 9781529034523
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Del Rey Books, 2017 / Mass market, 216 pp.
ISBN 9780345391803
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Pan 70, 2017 / Paperback, 227 pp.
ISBN 9781509860142
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016 / 132 pp.
ISBN 9781535185554
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Volume One in The Trilogy of Five
Pan Books, 2016 / Paperback, 210 pp.
ISBN 9781509808311
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Macmillan Digital Audio, 2012 / Audiobook
Showing 8 of 130
Your shelves, ratings and reviews belong to the book, not a particular edition. Edition data from Open Library.