Staff Picks

Intrigued by the advertisements and reviews for The Man in the High Castle but can’t find the program on your tv?   Currently the series is only available to Amazon Prime subscribers.  If you’re inclined to stream the show from the retailer, it’s a superb production that presents the consequences of an Axis victory in World War II.  With German forces occupying the eastern United States and the Japanese monarchy controlling the west, there’s plenty of tension and intrigue.

The scenario is based on the Hugo Award winning story by Philip K. Dick.  Check out Four Novels of the 1960s by Philip K. Dick for the original version of this groundbreaking story.

Network television viewers were introduced to the author’s work this Fall when Fox premiered The Minority Report based on a different future envisioned by Philip K. Dick.   The premise involves using data from psychic "precogs" to arrest violent criminals before they can act.  Of course balancing freedom and security proves to be a tough call to make.  The Selected Stories of Philip K. Dick contains the short story in its original form.

Clearly, Mr. Dick was ahead of his time.  Though he's best known as a science fiction writer, his work raises many fascinating and timely questions about justice and the price of freedom.

Alicia Cavitt

Information Specialist