JAMES THRIFT, SUE ADAMS, JANE GARNIER

Rockstar—Margo Buchanan

Prayers of Thanksgiving by Stephen Coles

Holding On—Gary Brooker

Wish You Were Here—David Gilmour

RICHARD DAWKINS

For the beauty of the earth—Music by Conrad Kocher & words by Folliott S. Pierpoint

ROBBIE STAMP

Vergnügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust from Cantata No 170
—J. S. Bach

Aria

Contented rest, beloved heart’s desire,
You are not found in the sins of hell,
But only in heavenly concord;
You alone fortify the feeble heart.
Contented rest, beloved heart’s desire,
Therefore none but the gifts of virtue
Shall have their abode in my heart.

SIMON JONES

For all the Saints who from their labours rest—
Music by R. Vaughan Williams & words by William W. How

BLESSING BY REVEREND ANTONY HURST

Organ Music by J. S. Bach:

Fantasia in G

Prelude and Fugue in C

Italian Concerto

Editor’s Acknowledgments

Editor’s Acknowledgments

To Douglas, without whom all of us would not be sharing the bounteous pleasures of these pages; I miss you;

To Jane Belson, Douglas’s beloved wife; her belief in and support for this book provide the foundation on which it rests;

To Ed Victor, Douglas’s long-time agent and trusted friend, whose commitment to this undertaking cleared away every obstacle;

To Sophie Astin, Douglas’s invaluable assistant, whose intelligence, devotion, and first-hand contribution to these pages proved essential;

To Chris Ogle, Douglas’s close friend, whose computer skills and knowledge of Douglas’s thought processes, passwords, and what could very kindly be called Douglas’s filing system, enabled Chris to assemble a master disk of all Douglas’s work, without which this book would not exist;

To Robbie Stamp, Douglas’s good friend and business colleague, who reminded me that Douglas had already created the structure for this book;

To Shaye Areheart and Linda Loewenthal of Harmony Books, who first brought me into this project, and to Bruce Harris, Chip Gibson, Andrew Martin, Hilary Bass, and Tina Constable, who published and loved Douglas; to Peter Strauss and Nicky Hursell in the UK, for their valuable editorial suggestions;

To Mike J. Simpson, former president of ZZ9, Douglas Adams’s official fan club, whose generosity and encyclopedic knowledge of Douglas’s life and work was an invaluable resource;

To Patrick Hunnicutt, who assisted my efforts in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and to Lizzy Kremer, Maggie Philips, and Linda Van in Ed Victor’s office;

To the various publications, writers, and friends of Douglas who so generously gave access and permission to use their work as it related to his;

To Isabel, my partner in life;

To my sons, Sam and William, who, as new generations tend to do, devoured Douglas’s books;

To all of Douglas’s readers: as you know, the love went (and still goes) both ways.

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