On Friday, May 11, 2001, the world mourned the untimely passing of Douglas Adams, beloved creator of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, dead of a heart attack at age forty-nine. Thankfully, in addition to a magnificent literary legacy—which includes seven novels and three co-authored works of nonfiction—Douglas left us something more. The book you are about to enjoy was rescued from his four computers, culled from an archive of chapters from his long-awaited novel-in-progress, as well as his short stories, speeches, articles, interviews, and letters.

In a way that none of his previous books could, The Salmon of Doubt provides the full, dazzling, laugh-out-loud experience of a journey through the galaxy as perceived by Douglas Adams. From a boy’s first love letter (to his favorite science fiction magazine) to the distinction of possessing a nose of heroic proportions; from climbing Kilimanjaro in a rhino costume to explaining why Americans can’t make a decent cup of tea; from lyrical tributes to the sublime pleasures found in music by Procol Harum, the Beatles, and Bach to the follies of his hopeless infatuation with technology; from fantastic, fictional forays into the private life of Genghis Khan to extended visits with Dirk Gently and Zaphod Beeblebrox: this is the vista from the elevated perch of one of the tallest, funniest, most brilliant, and most penetrating social critics and thinkers of our time.

Welcome to the wonderful mind of Douglas Adams.

道格拉斯·亞當斯（Douglas Adams，1952-2001）

英國著名科幻小說作傢，以《銀河係搭車客指南》係列聞名，這個係列被改編成電視劇和電影，科幻讀者奉之為“科幻聖經”之一。

《全能偵探社》是他的另一經典係列，融閤瞭科幻、偵探和喜劇元素，深受讀者喜愛，被改編成廣播劇、舞颱劇、電視劇和漫畫。

他也是非常受歡迎的演講者、廣播劇作傢、音樂傢以及環保活動傢。

2001年5月9日，亞當斯去世的前兩天，國際天文聯閤會將18610號小行星命名為“Arthurdent”，即《銀河係搭車客指南》係列的主角，以此嚮道格拉斯·亞當斯緻敬。