Publisher, Random House Audiobooks (May 2006)

Cops and criminals have always been interdependent, but no novel has explored that perverse symbiosis more powerfully than A Scanner Darkly. Bob Arctor is a dealer of the lethally addictive drug called Substance D. Fred is the police agent assigned to tail and eventually bust him. To do so, he has taken on the identity of a drug dealer named Bob Arctor. And since Substance D—which Arctor takes in mammoth doses—gradually splits the user's brain into two distinct, combative entities, Fred doesn't realize that he is narcing on himself.

Caustically funny, eerily accurate in its depiction of junkies, scam artists, and the walking brain-dead, Philip K. Dick's industrial-grade stress test of identity (both his characters' and the listener's) may be the most unnerving drug novel ever written.

About the Author: Philip K. Dick was born in Chicago in 1928 and lived most of his life in California. He briefly attended the University of California, but dropped out before completing any classes. In 1952, he began writing professionally and proceeded to write numerous novels and short story collections. He won the Hugo Award for the best novel in 1962 for The Man in the High Castle and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best novel of the year in 1974 for Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said. Philip K. Dick died on March 2, 1982, in Santa Ana, California.

About the Performer: Paul Giamatti earned an Academy Award® nomination for his role in Cinderella Man and a Golden Globe® nomination for his work in the critically acclaimed Sideways. His many film credits include Deconstructing Harry, Saving Private Ryan, and American Splendor.