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I take exception to the Opinion-page article "A Gift From a Justice to the People," June 1. The author asserts, "That the life story of Thurgood Marshall without the court papers was not worth the advance speaks volumes about the mindset of book publishers when it comes to African-Americans." The mindset probably was one of business realities. The sales of "dirt" material stay firm, even when the market for other material declines. D. L. Hatheway, Augusta, Maine

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