Forty years after the BBC Radio 4 broadcast of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a major new book about Douglas Adams’ life and works has been announced, an essential volume for fans of the writer and projects such as the aforementioned radio, television and books series, as well as Dirk Gently, and Adams’ time writing and script-editing Doctor Who.

Edited by husband and wife team Jessica Burke and Anthony Burdge, the volume – You and 42: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Douglas Adams – features a stunning cover design by Robert Hammond and comprises a series of essays on the subject of Adams’ career and work and the way it has impacted upon his fans’ lives, and features contributions from the likes of Jem Roberts, Barnaby Eaton-Jones, Kevin Jon Davies and many others. It’s all for a good cause too, with the entire authors’ royalties being donated to Save the Rhino, Adams’ own favoured charity.

You and 42 is being published by Who Dares Publishing, the company run by legendary Target Books artist Andrew Skilleter, and will be the first in a series of similar volumes dedicated to such wide-ranging subjects as David Bowie, Blakes 7, and the Doctor Who Target books themselves.

Pre-orders are now open with the book being due at the end of April, and the great news is that you don’t need to wait until Thursday to order it. It’s priced at £15.99 but can be ordered with a £2 discount from the Who Dares website.