Offering an intimate perspective on the life of an important, prolific author, this revealing biography uncovers the inner workings of a cult figure through his tumultuous relationship with his third wife. Brilliant and charismatic, Philip K. Dick was known as a loyal friend, father, and husband, as well as a talented science fiction writer. His six-year marriage to the woman he described as “the love of his life” and his intellectual equal was full of passion—the meeting of soul mates. But behind the façade of an untroubled life was a man struggling with his demons, unable to trust anyone, and reliant upon his charm to navigate his increasingly dark reality and descent into drugs and madness. Exposing personal details of their married life as well as the ways he continued to haunt her even after their relationship collapsed, Anne Dick provides thorough research combined with personal memories of this mysterious man.
The Search for Philip K. Dick (Science Fiction)
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"Invaluable for Dick fans and scholars because it’s told by the one person he was close to at an important turning point in his career." —New York Times
“Anne's detailed account of her years with Philip K Dick is a must read for anyone discovering the autobiographical elements in his writing. No other biography gives the reader as strong a sense of how he crafted his fiction, where he got his characters, and what made him tick.” —David Gill, San Francisco State University
“Besides being a remarkably accurate and life-like picture of the man, it is also a rattling good tale, like a real-life detective story.” —Ray Nelson, coauthor (with Philip K. Dick), The Ganymede Takeover
“An investigation full of epiphanies, a narration of absolute vividness that could only be inspired by a passionate love, a book that transports us to a indissoluble past, more true than our own present.” —Miguel Díaz Fernández
“The secret of Phil Dick's greatness, as with so many other great men, is his . . . [third] wife, Anne. You can see her influence in the development of his novels." —Thomas M. Disch, author, Camp Concentration and The Wall of America
"Anne R. Dick offers a compelling look at a giant of science fiction. . . . A pleasure to read." —Valley Advocate
About the Author
Anne R. Dick is an author, a poet, and an accomplished jewelry maker. She was Philip K. Dick’s third wife and lives in Point Reyes, California.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"The Search for Philip K. Dick" by Anne R. Dick
Phil dedicated the novel ("The man in the High Castle") to me: "To my wife Ann without whose silence this book would never have been written." I wasn't sure I liken this phrasing. I never did quite understand it. from The Search for Philip K. Dick
Anne Dick, the third of Phil's five wifes, is an extraordinary writer and woman. She details her traumatic life with Phil and the results of her extensive research and interviews with such clarity, candor and lack of vindictiveness one must constantly remind oneself, my gosh this was his wife who is writing. She scrupulously avoids dishing out payback for the shabby way Phil treated her and her children. Yes, she details the ugly events and hurtful arguments in a disintegrating marriage but it's the reader who must make the judgment, if in fact there is one to be made. The fact that she was with Phil during one of the most creative periods of his life,1959-64, is ample justification to share her story.
The author's dogged research tracking down friends, neighbors, teachers and co-workers of hers and mostly of Phil's and the inclusion of extensive quotes from her interviews make this book a treasure trove for those interest in just what made Phil tick, or for that matter not tick - so to speak.
After this book I will never read one of his novels without questioning just who is this fictional character based upon in Phil's life - which wife, or his dead twin sister or his boss or co-workers in the music store.
In all honesty I can only recommend this intriguing book to individuals who have read several of Phil Dick's novels and who have knowledge of his life story - at a minimum you should read the WIKI entry for the author. I certainly make no claims as to scholarship or expertise concerning PKD; I am just an admirer of his fiction. I have read by my reckoning 10 of his novels and the biography "Divine Invasions: A Life of Philip K. Dick" by Lawrence Sutin. Truthfully I would not know what to make of this book without my merger background as listed.
Thank you Ms Dick for your honesty and forthrightness. You have assisted me and I would say many of Phil's fans in coming to a humble understanding of who he was and why he wrote like he did.
Just in case you are curious of the books by PKD that I have read the two I would recommend to new readers are "Divine Invasion" and "Time Out of Joint".
Phil dedicated the novel ("The man in the High Castle") to me: "To my wife Ann without whose silence this book would never have been written." I wasn't sure I liken this phrasing. I never did quite understand it. from The Search for Philip K. Dick
Anne Dick, the third of Phil's five wifes, is an extraordinary writer and woman. She details her traumatic life with Phil and the results of her extensive research and interviews with such clarity, candor and lack of vindictiveness one must constantly remind oneself, my gosh this was his wife who is writing. She scrupulously avoids dishing out payback for the shabby way Phil treated her and her children. Yes, she details the ugly events and hurtful arguments in a disintegrating marriage but it's the reader who must make the judgment, if in fact there is one to be made. The fact that she was with Phil during one of the most creative periods of his life,1959-64, is ample justification to share her story.
The author's dogged research tracking down friends, neighbors, teachers and co-workers of hers and mostly of Phil's and the inclusion of extensive quotes from her interviews make this book a treasure trove for those interest in just what made Phil tick, or for that matter not tick - so to speak.
After this book I will never read one of his novels without questioning just who is this fictional character based upon in Phil's life - which wife, or his dead twin sister or his boss or co-workers in the music store.
In all honesty I can only recommend this intriguing book to individuals who have read several of Phil Dick's novels and who have knowledge of his life story - at a minimum you should read the WIKI entry for the author. I certainly make no claims as to scholarship or expertise concerning PKD; I am just an admirer of his fiction. I have read by my reckoning 10 of his novels and the biography "Divine Invasions: A Life of Philip K. Dick" by Lawrence Sutin. Truthfully I would not know what to make of this book without my merger background as listed.
Thank you Ms Dick for your honesty and forthrightness. You have assisted me and I would say many of Phil's fans in coming to a humble understanding of who he was and why he wrote like he did.
Just in case you are curious of the books by PKD that I have read the two I would recommend to new readers are "Divine Invasion" and "Time Out of Joint".
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Anne Dick knew him as well as anyone. And she used that as a starting point to write a great book about him. She doesn't judge his books, and I think doesn't really judge him. Just makes a great effort to understand a very complicated life. This is relevatory. If you read this and "Divine Invasion", you'll see that ... Philip Dick was quite a story unto himself, and the books are projections of the life that he lead.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By steve
Format:Paperback
I've read two other Philip K Dick biographies, "Divine Invasions" and "I am alive and you are dead", but this one is the best so far. Philip K Dick feels more like a real person in this book than in the others. It's also one of the few biographies I could call a "page turner". Highly recommended...
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Indispensable Companion to PKD's Point Reyes Novels
The revised, expanded and reorganized final version of the Edwin Mellen hardcover first published in 1995, this updated edition is indispensable for the researcher, fan or scholar... Read more
Published 15 days ago by David P. Driscoll
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting but more than a bit self-serving
The former Mrs. Dick tried hard to get background to help both the reader and herself understand the enigmatic, mercurial Mr. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Silas Marner
