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 guidbooks 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