The Book of Philip K. Dick is a 1973 short story collection dedicated to Leslie Busby. The volume collects stories written primarily between 1952 and 1955: Nanny, The Turning Wheel, The Defenders, Adjustment Team, PSI-Man, The Commuter, A Present for Pat, Breakfast at Twilight, and Shell Game.
The text excerpt includes the opening of "Nanny," which begins with Mary Fields reflecting on how the Nanny robot has transformed her household. The story establishes a characteristically Dickian domestic setting where advanced technology has been seamlessly integrated into suburban family life.
These early stories demonstrate the themes that would define Dick's entire career: the intersection of technology and everyday domestic life, questions about automation and human dependency, and the uncanny quality of apparently benign suburban existence. "Adjustment Team" was later adapted as the 2011 film The Adjustment Bureau, and "The Commuter" was adapted for the Electric Dreams television series. The collection captures Dick at the beginning of his career, writing prolifically for the SF magazine market while developing the distinctive voice and concerns that would later produce his greatest novels.