Welcome to the Best of the Masterworks: a selection of the finest in science fictionArthur Dent thought his day was going badly when someone tried to demolish his house.Then someone demolished his planet.Rescued by his friend Ford - who is not a human from Guilford, but an alien from somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse - Arthur is flung into an adventure among the stars. He will face aliens, robots, world-builders, and that girl he quite fancied who turned him down at a party one time. All in the name of research for the greatest book in the galaxy. He just has to remember not to panic. Part of the multi-media phenomenon The Hitchhiker''s Guide to the Galaxy is beloved the world over. Douglas Adams'' ''trilogy in five parts'' originated as a radio show, developed into a book series, and has since spawned a TV series, a film, additional sequels and expanded radio series, a famously impossible video game, and a number of stage shows. It was a Sunday Times bestseller, and ranked fourth in a 2003 BBC poll to find the Nation''s Best-Loved Book.-''Douglas Adams''s inspired melding of hippy-trail guidebook and sci-fi comedy turned its novelisations into a publishing phenomenon'' - Guardian''In a sense that only time can test, it could be said that the Hitchhiker''s Guide has become folklore'' - The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction''Douglas was a genius, and that''s not actually a word I toss around very lightly or use very much'' - Neil Gaiman