Philip Kendrid Dick was born in 1928, along with twin sister Jane, who died shortly thereafter. His father, Joseph, slaughtered pigs as a government employee. His mother, Dorothy, censored the documents of government spokesmen. Censorship would remain an important topic in many of his works. His parents divorced in 1933, and he moved out of his mothers apartment at age 18. About this time, he developed tachycardia, and became dependent on the medicines he was prescribed. In 1955 he sold the manuscript for his first published novel, "Solar Lottery." In 1977, his house was broken into by, he thought, CIA operatives. He believed this because only perishable food was stolen, and his safe was opened with explosives. This event set off a long period of paranoia in his life. He died in 1982, in a hospital, of heart failure.
Back...