<Tr> <Th> LC Class </Th> <Td> PR6051. D3352 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Followed by </Th> <Td> The Restaurant at the End of the Universe </Td> </Tr> <P> The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is the first of five books in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy comedy science fiction "trilogy" by Douglas Adams . The novel is an adaptation of the first four parts of Adams' radio series of the same name . The novel was first published in London on 12 October 1979 . It sold 250,000 copies in the first three months . </P> <P> The namesake of the novel is The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a fictional guide book for hitchhikers (inspired by the Hitch - hiker's Guide to Europe) written in the form of an encyclopedia . </P>

When was the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy first published