Simply amazing. The width and depth of PKD's mind is just absolutely astounding. In Pursuit of Valis and The Shifting Realities of PKD are must reads for anyone interested in philosophy and religion. ( )

I read this many, many moons ago, and have occasion to refer to it still. There are issues with the work: it's very personal, it rambles (even though it's ueber edited), it flips and it flops but this is what it is. The reason why one would want, or even need to read this is so that one can see Dick's mind at work explaining, re-explaining, and re-re-explaining the Event (you know the one) in a multitude of contexts, some almost believable, others totally out to lunch. There's insight to be had here, and while some big names might not approve, the big names need to remember that the rest of us never knew PKD personally, and short of checking in via Ouija board, this is probably the best substitute for an inkling of what was going on between 1973 and 1982.

Norman Spinrad, who was a friend of Dick's, did not think much of the attention given to this book. It is both very interesting, and very sad. Parts of it makes sense, but PKD knows both that he's gone too far and that he can't stop.