42

In The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, author Douglas Adams famously proposed that the answer to the question 'what is the meaning of life?' was the number 42. Why that number? Over the years, many theories have been put forward, but Adams steadfastly refused to clarify. It has taken Peter Gill, a dedicated fan and investigator, 10 years to establish just why 42 is the answer. In this brilliantly detailed, maniacally meticulous and hilariously offbeat volume, Gill gives readers a whole range of such reasons.