EP Douglas Adams HitchHikers Guide to the Universe All in One Release

By Popular Demand :)

It also looks like they are announcing a Hitchhikers Guide to the Universe all in one book:

http://www.eastonpress.com/prod/273/Douglas-Adams-s-THE-COMPLETE-HITCHHIKER-S-GU...

I have one signed by him and the original book so I might pass, but those are great reads.

Hmmm, there's a problem with your link...

Sorry about that, likely b/c I copied it from the other post. Thanks, jroger1. (I'll also fix it in my original post) I am waiting to see how they do the cover. I have the Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy and a signed Mostly Harmless and have never even seen the other 3 for sale. I'm intrigued, but waiting to see what exactly their idea is with this massive book.

Looks like the cover is up...pretty neat.

Am I understanding it correctly that this new version contains not just the first book but the four subsequent one's, as well?

Correct. It will basically be an extra nice version of the one Barnes and Noble sells at 7 times the cost.

The link appears to be for "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", rather than "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe". ;-)

Os.

7: but, I would argue that ALL the books most of purchase are just "extra-nice" copies of books we could get for much cheaper. However, that wouldn't make us happy would it :)

You're right...I just figured with it being all of them in one it could be the universe...:)

>10 brooksknight:

{ "Multiverse" would probably be more appropriate than "Universe" , given the content of book 5. That said the whole story is all set in the one galaxy, albeit multiple instances of it. }

lol, touché

The Barnes and Noble edition is pretty cool looking next to my other leather books and is the Ultimate Galaxy version costing only $25

I have all five books in one but it is a leather bound literary classics edition which cost 20 dollars. But I am considering this one since it has 5 color illustrations and much better quality. Spiraling through the Galaxy.

There is nothing about this book which justifies $176 expense compared to the beautiful Barnes and Noble edition with a really cool cover + silver gilded pages for $25

Maybe if it were DLE and signed...but for 5 color illustrations?

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/barnes-noble-leatherbound-classics-the-ultimate-...

15: "beautiful Barnes and Noble edition"...? Not in my eyes. I don't like that cover, no sir. Still, to each their own. I would much rather spend $176 on the EP edition and get my money's worth. At this point, I'm not going to get either edition, although the one I would really like should EP release it would be the "illustrated" edition (released back in 1994) which had tons of cool illustrations :)

I actually think the paperback pseudo-facsimile of the 1st Edition boxed set that Pan put out a while back beats the lot of them. The UK covers never had the "planet with tongue stuck out" imagery -- that was purely an American thing. Paperbacks feel like the right format for these (especially as that is the way HHGTG was originally published). Plus the set cost about $20.

If the EP set had these covers as the frontis for each book (within the single volume), I'd probably buy it.

Paperbacks... bleh! I mean, they're fine if you just want to read the book. However, I don't buy books just to read them. For me, it's an experience. The illustrations, the quality feel of the book...

>17 Studedoo:
Throughout the 1940s, 50s, 60's, and perhaps later, the best art among the scifi and mystery genres was on the cover of paperbacks. That is why EP illustrated its 6-volume Mickey Spillane set with paperback art.

Some of the B&N books look nice and even have a good feel, but to compare them to an Easton Press edition is kind of laughable. They aren't real leather, they are printed on basic paper, and the internal page marker is like something you would tie a balloon to.

I have a couple that were gifts and I do like them, but I don't consider them collectible.

I actually just sold my original Hitchhikers Guide to the Universe Easton Press copy on eBay suddenly yesterday, so I'll be buying this.

I totally agree with your comment brooksknight about the B&N books. I went to my local B&N last week just to look at them in person and I was not impressed at all. Since I have been collecting and reading my Easton Press editions since last year I couldn't put the B&N copies on the same shelf. The B&N classics collection would be fine for my kids to collect and read.

Although the B&N books might not really be collectible, if you manage to find a copy of The Chronicles of Narnia, it's worth quite a bit on the second-hand market. I sold my copy over a year ago for $145.00 on eBay.

>18 astropi:

Paperbacks... bleh! I mean, they're fine if you just want to read the book. However, I don't buy books just to read them. For me, it's an experience. The illustrations, the quality feel of the book...

Yes, there is clearly no place in the world for books other than increasingly generic leather-bounds, and only lower-class idiots would ever allow themselves to read a paperback.... The funny thing is, there are a lot of book collectors who would feel the same about EP vs a proper original edition and would turn up their nose in the same way

Paperbacks were the first format that I read these books in, and were the first format they were published in. If you can't see that is also an "experience" to be savoured, then I pity you, as you are missing out by limiting yourself (obsessively) to a single style (and limited number of publishers) of books. For me it is the same as an early Hobbit or LOTR Hardback, even if tatty, is going to beat reading the EP edition hands-down in terms of authenticity of experience. Won't stop me having the EP editions (end enjoying them), but I know which I'd put in the fire first if I needed warmth.

All that said, I don't personally collect paperbacks, except for the odd very specific item.

Like I said, this EP HHGTG edition would be good if it had the original cover art. Then it would feel like an homage to the original UK books, which are unique and uniquely British. I'd buy it for sure.

>22 Arknight:
Jeez, mine is just hanging out on the shelf right now! Problem is, I don't have a different compilation or nice hardcover set to replace it with.

Aren't the Folio Editions incomplete? Have they ever published the 4th and 5th books?

>26 chrisrsprague:
To date, FS has only published the first three.

Os

In a email I received from FS last week, they said they were excited to confirm that the final two volumes in the "trilogy" will be making their Folio debut in 2016.

So in a situation like this when FS releases the last two books, do they normally reprint the first three? Or are they still available?

>29 hamletscamaro: they are still available.

I've been collecting and reading EP for a year now and I purchased three Folio Society books just to see what all the fuss was about from the Folio Society Devotees group. They are nice books, but I compare the FS side by side with EP and I'm not feeling the love for FS like I do with my EP books. I will continue to be devoted to EP because I love the fact that they are made in the USA and have such a prestigious, sophisticated, upscale quality and feel to them. I love the leather binding, gold accents on the spine, covers, and gold gilding on the page edges. The quality paper stock that is used is by far superior and I love the way these books feel in my hands when reading them.
I'll get off my soapbox now, I just had to share with people who understand, since nobody in my family are book collectors or do much reading.

>30 BINDINGSTHATLAST: Funny how experiences differ
I have a few EP books and to me they are unoriginal photocopies sewn into bonded leather.

>31 Tolkienfan: I agree. I have always been a fan of EP over all others. Franklin is a close second (only their leather collection).

>32 BINDINGSTHATLAST: EP is not bonded leather. I believe there were a few made from the American History Collection, but I do not own ANY EP that is not real leather, and I have been collecting for a long time.

You are correct on your statement about the EP being real leather and everyone of my EP books specify genuine leather!

Sorry but I would have to disagree. I'm a fan of both EP and FS but I still feel that FS uses a far superior quality in materials compared to EP. Folios goatskin leather and thicker paper stock are miles ahead of EP's pigskin leather. There's a reason why some of FS books cost a little more.

For the sake of us who appreciate both EP and FS, please let us not digress into a peeing contest.

Everyone has their own likes or dislikes and opinions and that's what makes Library Thing a great place to have discussions and share information and thoughts. The most important aspect is that we all enjoy collecting and reading books!

EP uses little leather bits molded together hence bonded. Not one solid piece of cured hide with some exception with their DLE.

My main interest is that they are still leather and not cloth or paper and they provide my home library with a distinguished and sophisticated look.

>38 BINDINGSTHATLAST: Completely untrue for the umpteenth time. With very few exceptions, EP does NOT use bonded leather. They do NOT use little leather bits molded together. They use real leather. Granted, it's pigskin and it has a pattern/grain machine embossed upon it unless we're talking the DLEs but still leather - cured hide.

>40 kdweber: how can it be untrue when in the same breathe you say they have used bonded leather? Call EP and ask them exactly what they mean by "Genuine Leather" and you will find them surprisingly non committal about whether their books are by and large bonded or third tier painted leather. Unfoftunately, "genuine leather" isn't a super protected trade certification like say a wine appellation. Franklin was guilty of the same thing near their end.

>41 BINDINGSTHATLAST: EP is very open with their material usage. They use Saderra (TM) pigskin in most of their books. They used bonded leather in one minor series.

The term 'Genuine Leather' is used loosely by other companies. However, the EP collection I do have (not as many as most of you) it is of high quality. They look great on the shelves, they're nice to hold, they give a good reading experience.

I totally agree with your comment and feel the same way. It cracks me up how people have nothing better to do than run EP into the ground, but I love to see them getting educated when they haven't done there research.

>44 Tolkienfan: It is not an uneducated opinion. I have spoken to EP directly, and as others note, they have used bonded leather. If EP had told me exactly what kind of quality to expect rather than obfuscating the point with "wells" and "mostly this" but "sometimes that", especially when directly questioned about their DLEs and great books series, I would not have posted what I did. Because a statement based on an experience does not agree with yours does not inherently mean it is "uneducated". Just because your books say "genuine leather" doesn't specifically mean it is a certain quality of "genuine leather" be it Algerian goatskin or bonded pig skin - in the same way that archival paper is not all created equal, but all archival paper means a minimum standard (which is often subjective) in the country (like the US which has high standards) in which it is made. Obviously EP uses a variety of leathers in their publications, some of which is in fact bonded and they were not clear with me in terms of what volumes I would encounter (or should avoid) based on the quality of the leather that they use.

But, I do note the digression from the OP. The Hitchhikers Guide is good to own in any binding.

Don't go and get yourself flustered now over the topic of leather bindings. I can understand if you were paying $1000.00 per book but that's not the case here. These books are not investments or a rare commodity and that's why I enjoy collecting and reading them and when I have family or friends over they really admire the EP books in my home library. They don't judge my books by the type or grade of leather or even how much I paid for them and neither do I.

>47 Tolkienfan: no I agree, such debates are for the rare person who is interested. Generally, I think books, even rare ones, make for poor investments and are meant to be read not sit under glass.

Educate yourselves, folks. The term "bonded leather" does not mean multiple pieces of leather bonded together. It means shredded leather (or leather fibers) that have been mixed with a bonding agent to create an artificial material that is (mostly) the stuff of leather. It's like cheese vs. Velveeta, or chicken tenders vs. McNuggets. When a chinese restaurant combines bite-sized pieces (perhaps from multiple birds) into a single dish, it is still genuine chicken; but when McDonald's liquifies the meat to remove it from the bones and then reformulates the resulting protein slop (with whatever else was added) into nuggets, its McBonded chicken.

As far as I know, there is no industry term for "constructed out of a single piece of hide, no scraps allowed." Moreover, because separate pieces of leather can be joined fairly seamlessly by an expert, many of those high-grade leather books that some collectors moan over may indeed be Frankenstein's monsters.

It has been well established in previous discussions that the Saderra leather currently used by EP is not the most expensive stuff around. That doesn't mean that it is not still beautiful on the shelf or in the hand--unless it gives you pause to reflect that a poor intelligent pig (as opposed to a stupid bovine grazer) gave up its hide for your reading pleasure (if, on the other hand, you have it out for cows--buy a DLE!!).

In the past, EP used a wider variety of leathers than they do today. I believe that, once upon a time (a long, long time ago), they mentioned this in their marketing literature. Moreover, I know of at least one case where the Notes from the Archives for one of the Famous Editions mentions it being bound in cowhide. And, yes, in the early days of the long-defunct Masterpieces of American Literature series, EP did experiment with bonded leather--but they were very up front about it, labeling it as such on the title page.

Bravo SilentInAWay,
That was very educational and indeed needed for members on this site who still don't grasp the concept or who are just haters of EP.
I am just glad that EP cares about the quality detail and craftsmanship that is put into each of their books and that I can not stress this enough that they are made in the USA!!! God Bless America!

>50 Tolkienfan: god bless indeed because He is extremely concerned about the state of bonded leather in America today! Thank God for EP's Christ like stance on pigskin - oh wait! Wasn't there something about pigskin in Leviticus? Well, we wouldn't want to READ the bible would we...cause that is hard. Perhaps if the bible had more hairy feet and goblins in it you would have spotted the irony of your blessing.

Who do you think you are!!! How dare you talk down about my Lord Jesus Christ who I serve and have faithfully lived for since I was a child when you don't even know me or have a clue of who I am. Reading the Holy Bible is my choice book which I happen to enjoy reading and get or learn something new from it each day.

>51 BINDINGSTHATLAST: >52 Tolkienfan:
This isn't the place for a debate about religion

>52 Tolkienfan: haha you are joking, right? Oh bother...

No, I'm not joking! Your laughing and I'm not! I don't appreciate you judging me or anyone else here for that matter. Your not even a member of this group (Easton Press Collectors), so why don't you go troll somewhere else and keep your derogatory comments to your self.

>55 Tolkienfan: temper temper. Plus I believe it was you who cast the first passive aggressive stone. >53 jroger1: no religious debate was intended. I simply pointed out the irony of someone getting upset and praising their god who expressly forbids the handling of the skin of unclean animals whereby the same unclean skin is used to cover the same books about which he is so defensive. Seems an obvious invitation to ridicule really. However the day is done and we must retire to our respective hobbit holes; mine, sanctimonious snide unamerican aetheistic evolution loving hole of iniquity, and Mr. Tolkien to his upstanding forthright christian allegorical new testament-only apse..may our respective angels whisper us sweet nothings.

>56 BINDINGSTHATLAST: Tolkeinfan >50 Tolkienfan: said God Bless America, not EP leather. I'm sure many of us here on LT feel the same way. If you were to say God bless Canada, I, and I'm sure others, would agree with you ( but judging from your above comment, I think that's highly unlikely ), though many of us are American. If you disagree with any of this, you certainly have a right to do so. But please, don't bring this on LT.

49: I do think that EP leather is really good.Some other books I have use bonded leather which is nowhere near as nice as a basic EP edition. For the record, I do feel rather bad about pigs and leather in general :(
I don't think cows are as dumb as people think they are. I know that leather has been used by people for thousands of years, but it was once on a living creature. I do ponder these things...

>49 SilentInAWay:

Thanks for the clarification. I hope my son, who has given up eating pork products simply because "pigs are too smart to eat," doesn't learn that his father's library has contributed so heavily to porcine demise.

Just for the record, I have four titles from the Masterpieces of American Literature series: one with moire endpapers and three with marbled. None of them mentions bonded leather. In fact, while the publisher's preface talks about how finely they're bound, the quality of the paper, etc., the word "leather" isn't mentioned anywhere.

Nevertheless, I do remember them saying that the series was bound in bonded leather, and perhaps it was simply power of suggestion, but I never cared for the books; they somehow looked cheaper to me.

>59 vanb:

For your MoAL volumes with marbled endpapers, check out the logos on the title page; some of them look like this:

Here's a quote from one of the earliest advertisements for the series (in National Geographic):

The great beauty of these books is achieved by binding each volume with a beautiful material made of bonded-leather-fibers...achieving the look, smell, and feel which can come only from the pure leather fibers which are its principal ingredient. The luxurious material effectively achieves the prized qualities of expensive top-grain cowhide (but at a much lower price!).

Apparently collectors did not agree, for by the time I started collecting the series in the early 1980s, they had already switched to genuine leather covers. I don't know for how long the bonded leather experiment was pursued, but Masterpieces of American Literature was definitely designed to be a budget series--marbled endpapers, no gold content in the gilding, etc. -- and each book sold for $19.50 (this at a time when books in the 100G series were selling for around $30).

The fifty plus books that I own from this series fall into three categories: 1) marbled endpapers with the logo above (with the phrase "bound in bonded leather-fibers"), 2) marbled endpapers with no mention of bonded leather (with the regular MoAL logo), and 3) moire fabric endpapers with a genuine leather cover (again, with the regular MoAL logo).

>60 SilentInAWay:

Mystery solved. My copies must come from the second and third categories. Interesting that they decided at some point to cease disclosing that they were using bonded leather.

That's one possibility. I don't know whether category one or two came first, so its possible that EP did not indicate that the books were bound in bonded leather at first, and then changed their policy and added the special logo to titles that were printed slightly later.

It's also possible that category two uses genuine leather, but marbled endpapers.

One thing is for certain...no one working at Easton Press today knows the answer to this mystery. I have never known a company that knows less about their own history.

Getting back to EP HHGTTG, I understand that there were two versions of the first book in the "trilogy:" one that was signed, and one that was from the Masterpieces of Science Fiction series. Can anyone tell me if the latter copy has moire endpapers, or are they decorative paper? In other words, if I have the other four books in the series (with silk endpapers), do I have to buy the signed copy of HHGTTG to have a matched set, or will the unsigned version do?

Vanb, they are identical other than he signed page. I've had a copy of each.

Bought this one from EP since I am a big fan of Douglas Adams and I can rest assured that this is much higher quality than the Barnes and noble edition or any other leather edition. Plus there are five illustrations which makes it even more desirable.

65: Can you share pics of the illustrations? Thanks.

Will when I receive it I just ordered it but paid for four day shipping so will post in about a week. Also I do have a Deluxe leather edition of The ultimate hitchhikers guide to the galaxy by Gramercy books 2005 edition in new condition which I didn't think was worth much until I checked out Amazon and it is going for 120.00. So since I bought this one I put it up for 60.00 so will see how that goes.

Years ago EP also released a signed set! This was of course before Adam's tragic death. There used to be a number of them on ebay, but I haven't seen a signed copy in sometime. Probably insanely expensive now. However, I believe it just had Adam's signature and no illustrations whatsoever (maybe a frontispiece)?

Sold my deluxe gramercy edition with in a hour of posting it. So now waiting patiently for my new one from EP. 😎

I had bought the latest EP all-in-one Hitchhiker volume earlier this year but returned it (a rare occurrence) simply because it felt too cumbersome to read. The pages felt a little thin and the text seemed a little bit cramped, as well. I would've much preferred individual volumes. The one's that EP released years ago are rather expensive now, when you can even find them.

I expected that before I ordered it since it is over 800 pages which would be hard to make thick pages with that big of a book. It will still be the best quality compared to any other I have run across.

Since this book is now at less than 50 copies left, I am considering pulling the trigger. Those of you who purchased this book what are your thoughts?

I saw that treereader said the pages were thin and the text cramped; should I just stick with my B&N copy?

I have it and I like it. I would much prefer individual volumes but as people have already mentioned those are very expensive if you can even find a set. The paper is thinner than a normal EP volume, I would compare it to some of the larger 100 Greatest books if you have them in size, think Monte Cristo, Anna Karenina, etc. I disagree with the text feeling cramped. I think the margins are thin which might give off this illusion.

Edit:
I was going to add a couple of pictures of the text but the site I use to upload images seems to not be working properly right now. I will try again later on.

I have the B&N version. Started reading to see if I should upgrade. After 2.5 books I will not upgrade.

I don't own the EP edition, but I will say that if you're looking for the 5-volume set it's particularly expensive because it's signed by Douglas Adams. It's also a small-sized book, and I don't believe it has any illustrations. So, is it worth paying hundreds or over $1000 for Douglas Adams' signature? Up to you. As for the work itself, I read the first two books, perhaps the third, and lost interest. The first book in the series was very good. I hardly recall anything about the others (don't even remember if I read the second and finished the third or only started it?) -obviously did not leave much of an impression on me. Just my personal taste of course.

Here is an example of the text, apologies for the low resolution:

Thanks for all of your input and pictures! Right now I guess I'm leaning towards not purchasing as I already have the much cheaper B&N edition. One of the my biggest concerns for this book is that due to its size it will be unwieldy to read. I don't believe the EP edition will solve this over the B&N copy, and may even be heavier.

>78 mortalalliance: Folio Society has released the whole set in separate books so might be worth considering.

79: It's worth noting that the illustrations in the FS edition are beautiful!

http://www.foliosociety.com/book/HGG/hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy

personally, I recommend the first book only, and between EP and FS I would go with FS in this case.

The Complete Hitchhiker's Guide is back:

https://www.eastonpress.com/all-categories/sci-fi-and-fantasy/douglas-adamss-the...

>81 whytewolf1: Woohoo! but EP won’t ship TCHHGTTG to Canada for some reason. Same thing happened with The Silmarillion. I’ll have to find a friend or family member in the US who can purchase it for me and mail to me.

:)

>82 Neil_Luvs_Books: Oh, wow... I guess it may have to do with rights issues. But at least you can get it in a roundabout way! :P

I ended up getting the limited Folio edition expensive but the best copy out there if you can afford it. Oh comes with a towel also. https://www.foliosociety.com/usa/the-hitchhiker-s-guide-to-the-galaxy-limited-ed...

>84 Carl64: Yeah, it's about 5 times the cost of the EP edition.



If you're a big fan of the series than definitely the FS edition is the way to go. I read the first three books (got bored with book #3 and stopped half-way through) so for someone like me who's not a big fan the EP edition is the definitely the way to go.