Question about the "The Hitch Hikers Guide" Novel

I just bought a copy of inFamous on amazon.ca for $15, but since I was $10 shy of free shipping I looked around the site for a few hours to try and find something to boost me up to qualify. Well, after some time the only other game that I could find that I was even remotely interested in was only $9.99. Two fucking cents short of super saver shipping...
 
Long story short, I bought THIS book to qualify for super saver shipping since I always heard people talk about it like it's the greatest book ever written. What I'm wondering is, is the Hitch Hikers Guide just one book, or a series of books? Did I just buy the first novel in a series or is that one book the entire thing? The tag line kind of confused me about that, so I figured I would ask. I hate starting something only to need to hunt down the rest of the series later should I like it, because there is always one book in the middle of the series that is impossible to find.  
 
UPDATE:I just noticed that it says it's 768 pages long. So I'm guessing that it's a compilation of all the books?

There are multiple books in the series, though the first is easily the best.  Honestly, the books tend to go downhill, and the last one, Mostly Harmless, is rather depressing.  But the first one is totally worth reading.

The book is the first in a series of five, but since Douglas Adams swore he'd never write another after the third, it's jokingly referred to as a trilogy in five parts. 
The sequels were written because Douglas Adams wanted more more money, and fans wanted more jokes. You can finish the first and never think about the series again.

It sounds like a rerelease after the fourth book came out? 
 

 Novels

The novels are described as "a trilogy in five parts", having been described as a trilogy on the release of the third book, and then a "trilogy in four parts" on the release of the fourth book. The US edition of the fifth book was originally released with the legend "The fifth book in the increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhiker's Trilogy" on the cover. Subsequent re-releases of the other novels bore the legend "The [first, second, third, fourth] in the increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhiker's trilogy". In addition, the blurb on the fifth book humorously describes the book as "the book that gives a whole new meaning to the word 'trilogy '".

The second book (Restaurant at the End of the Universe) Is also quite good, and wraps things up nicely. The other books have about one joke for every 30 pages.
 
But good choice, that is my second favourite book behind 1984.

Oh joy... I really didn't need another long ass book series to try and read. Oh well.

It's a trilogy of five books.
 
EDIT: Beated.
 
Just get a big collected edition. There's a bunch of versions. Mine is leatherbound.

Lots of people bash the truly last book by Colfer, but I don't. In true chronological sense "And Another Thing." Is the last Hitchhickers Book to quote Colfer
 
 "People have said, quite rightly, that Mostly Harmless is a very bleak book. And it was a bleak book. I would love to finish Hitchhiker on a slightly more upbeat note, so five seems to be a wrong kind of number; six is a better kind of number."    
 
If you have no intent of reading past the first or second book, then this is pretty inconsequential, and honestly I wouldn't hold it against you. Just getting the facts straight.
 

Forget the book, just watch the movie! (Do not do this.)

If you care to know what Douglas put his A game on, get the original audio drama. Beyond that, its really nothing outside what you'd expect in a Dr. Who episode, but the original audio drama bits are brilliant.

" Oh joy... I really didn't need another long ass book series to try and read. Oh well. "

" @crusader8463 said:

" Oh joy... I really didn't need another long ass book series to try and read. Oh well. "

Eh, they're not that long. I've had a collection of all five books, and the book was about as large as your average epic fantasy novel. You don't really need to read past the third book anyway.  "

I can't read that website!  It's in Canadian!

As far as books go there are a lot of worse things to be reading.

" @XII_Sniper said:

" @crusader8463 said:

" Oh joy... I really didn't need another long ass book series to try and read. Oh well. "

Eh, they're not that long. I've had a collection of all five books, and the book was about as large as your average epic fantasy novel. You don't really need to read past the third book anyway.  "

Actually I would need to. I'm a completionist, and if I invest the time to read one of the novels I would have to read them all or it would drive me crazy. That's why I'm worried that this will only be a few of the books. From the looks of it it's only the first four. "

UPDATE:I just noticed that it says it's 768 pages long. So I'm guessing that it's a compilation of all the books? "

" @crusader8463 said:

UPDATE:I just noticed that it says it's 768 pages long. So I'm guessing that it's a compilation of all the books? "

Yup, that's all of them "

Only ever read the first one, and I was fine with that.

" Oh joy... I really didn't need another long ass book series to try and read. Oh well. "

" Forget the book, just watch the movie! (Do not do this.) "

Technically it's a trilogy of 6 books now. That book you got is the first 4 and the high point of the series. The 5th one is kind bleak and the 6th is written by a different guy. Both are still worth getting if you liked the first 4. They aren't as good but far from bad.
If can get it find the BBC radio play and original version of the story. The plot goes in a different direction (in fact the plot changes in every medium) and is very well done. The BBC TV show is okay in a camp, low budget way. The guy who played Arthur Dent is great. 
The movie is pretty poor with hit and miss casting, a really bad interpretation of Zaphod and the plot (written using ideas from Douglass Adams) is the weakest variation I've seen with a heavy handed moral. I did like the Vogons though and how they did the titular book.

The first three are superb. Haven't read Colfer's yet.

There is 6 books total.
 
I have read them all and can tell you that 4 of them are superb it does go downhill a little, though.
 
Btw correction here, it's the greatest satire of all time. I dont know about greatest book, but it's a hilarious read. It's interesting to note this is one universe where canon cannot be complained about as it was originally a radio show before being a book and has since been constantly changed in some way by the author so it's never consistently the same. None the less, the book is superb and I still read it from time to time. I have the one that looks like a bible with all 6 books complete and unabridged.  Each book themselves are fairly short in comparison to some authors.
 
If I may I would like to quote Douglas Adams, as I am apt to do is these kinds of threads:
 
                                             How to leave the planet
 

1. Phone NASA. Their phone number is (713)483-3111. Explain that it's very important that you get away as soon as possible.
2.  If they do not cooperate, phone any friend you may have in the White House-(202)456-1414- to have a word on your behalf with the guys at NASA.
3.  If you don't have any friends in the White House, phone the Kremlin (ask the overseas operator for 0107-095-295-9051). They don't have any friends there either (at least none to speak of), but they do seem to have a little influence, so you may as well try.
4.  If that also fails, phone the Pope for guidance. His telephone number is 011-39-6-6982, and I gather his switchboard is infallible.
5.  If all these attempts fail, flag down the nearest passing flying saucer and explain that it's vitally important you get away before your phone bill arrives.

Not quite on-topic, but Douglas Adams also did the pair of Dirk Gently books, unrelated to HHGTTG but with a similar sense of humour which I found to be a good read (he has a similar writing style to Terry Pratchett I think). One of them includes a rogue Electric Monk (a robot) , which in the same way as a VCR would record (and therefore) watch TV for you, the EM believes in things for you so you don't have to waste time on doing that. Sounds like an odd idea, but it makes for some interesting plot devices. They're each just under 3 dvd cases thick:

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul

" Forget the book, just watch the movie! (Do not do this.) "

If you're worried about a long read then you don't need to worry. I've read the entire first book in a parking lot while waiting for my girlfriend to get off work. They're pretty breezy (and completely awesome) reads. Though I never finished the 4th or 5th, but I adored the first 3.

" @august said:

" Forget the book, just watch the movie! (Do not do this.) "

Having read all the books as a child (and multiple times since then) and having seen the movie several times, I have to say I actually quite like it.  There are certainly big changes from the novel, but Adams himself wasn't afraid to adapt the story as it shifted from radio to book to TV series to film.  I can understand not digging it, but I don't understand the unanimous negativity surrounding the movie online. "