Philip K. Dick has written some truly excellent short stories. Not many of them are collected here. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the book - his concept-heavy shorts are nearly always thought-provoking even if I don't always warm to the characters - but there's only one here that stands out about the average, I think. That story is "The Exit Door Leads In", which I've read before in another collection from him. Perhaps the reason it stands out is the comment from Major Casals towards the end: he has been involved in the psychological testing of various candidates, and when the protagonist of the story fails on ethical grounds because of what he describes as loyalty to the Major, Casals is dumbfounded. "I am someone who insulted you and derided you," he says. "Someone who treated you like dirt." Bibleman - and what a name that is - has no answer to this, but if he'd seen some of the voters of today, well. The more things change.

Unfortunately, I should probably add that this collection is hampered by a near thirty page introduction by Dick which is one of the most tedious, self-indulgent essays I've ever read. It is by far the worst thing about the book, and I look forward to never experiencing it again.