The Penultimate Truth - Philip K Dick

The Penultimate Truth is one of Dick's more sombre novels, written at a white-hot pace when he was at the height of his creative powers.

Drawing on four of Dick's stories, The Penultimate Truth is one of his most pointed examination of the lies woven by governments.
World War III is raging - or so the millions of people crammed in their underground tanks believe. For fifteen years, subterranean humanity has been fed on daily broadcasts of a never-ending nuclear destruction, sustained by a belief in the all powerful Protector.

But up on Earth's surface, a different kind of reality reigns. East and West are at peace. Across the planet, an elite corps of expert hoaxers live in vast private demesnes - repayment for their services in preserving the great lie. Until one day, a tanker emerges and discovers the path to the most sinister truth of all.