A Brief Note on the Wondrous Life of Douglas Adams.

            Douglas Adams is a well-known name in the world of science fiction. He is well known for such contributions as The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, which are now staples of the genre, but there is much that is interesting about the man outside his body of work.  Douglas Adams was a fervent environmentalist and a staunch atheist.  After his death in 2001, biologist Richard Dawkins wrote in his book, The God Delusion, that "Science has lost a friend, literature has lost a luminary, the mountain gorilla and the black rhino have lost a gallant defender." Not only was Douglas Adams a conscientious man, a man of literature and science; he was also a lover of music. Douglas Adams played the guitar left handed and also studied the piano. He was notably influence by The Beatles, Pink Floyd, and Procol Harum. He is known to have listened to music while writing, and it is very interesting to imagine the relationship between the music and the writing. The music of those artists are famous psychedelic odysseys, of a mind expanding nature, analogous to Adams work as a writer. Like the music, Adams books were a vehicle readers used to travel the far reaches of space, fueled by the boundless capability of imagination. Douglas Adams was a friend of David Gilmour, lead guitarist and singer of Pink Floyd. On the occasion of his 42^nd birthday, Adams was invited onstage with Pink Floyd at Earls Court in London, playing guitar on Brain Damage and Eclipse, two cosmic tracks off of their 1973 album, Dark Side of the Moon. Douglas also named Pink Floyds 1994 album The Division Bell, by picking it out of the words from the track, High Hopes. Douglas Adams was also a friend of Procol Harum’s lead singer, Gary Brooker, who once performed the full version of the classic, Whiter Shade of Pale, at a house party Douglas hosted. Douglas Adams was fanatical about technology and innovation. He was the first man in Europe to own a Macintosh computer, and often corresponded to friends using emails long before it was a common practice. His full thoughts on technology are documented in the posthumous release, Salmon of Doubt. There was a love of the organic with Adams, as well. Adams was an environmentalist activist who campaigned for several endangered species, such as the Rhino. Adams participated in a climb of Mount Kilimanjaro wearing a rhino suit to raise awareness of the organization, Save the Rhino International, and its efforts. Douglas Adams died of a heart attack on 11 May, 2001. His remains were cremated and the ashes placed in Highgate Cemetery, in 2002. Douglas Adams remains a culturally significant figure, in England, The United States, and the world, captivating readers and pushing their minds towards the far corners of the universe.