Don't Panic: Douglas Adams and the Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Neil Gaiman
This is the story of an ape-descended human called Douglas Adams who, in a field in Innsbruck in 1971, had an idea. This is also the story of what that idea became: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - of the original radio series which started it all and the five book trilogy, the TV series, almost-film, computer game, towel and website that followed. This revised edition comes up to date, covering Adams' recent work, his untimely death in May 2001 and posthumous publications.