Session: 123456789101112131415161718192021222324         Page 383384385386387388389390391392393394395396397398399400401402403404405 of 592

this printer, and the separations had to be done by this outfit, and that kind of thing. They priced the book and I said to them, “Look, I'll give you this book provided you do certain things for us.” I says, “I have the right to do a catalogue, it's part of the project. You're going to print the catalogue. I'll cover the cost of the whole thing up to the point it goes on the press. You pay for the press run, we'll do all the color separations -- everything -- up to that time. You're going to get a free book. Then figure out what the cost will be, and I'll sell the book before it comes out.” They figured out that the cost would be four dollars a book, for them. Their cost, exclusive of everything I put in. I said, “Okay.” Turned out later it was like $3.70. I said, “Okay, I will sell the book to organizations, to unions. They will buy 1000 copies, a minimum of 500, at four dollars a copy.” I then started calling around. Pam arranged for the printer to run off sheets of the art.

Oh! Then the question came of the essay. Who should write the essay? We discussed among ourselves, with the publisher, who would be the best person to write the essay, and we narrowed it down to a few people -- [?], [Kurt] Vonnegut, Irving Howe. There may have been one other name, I forget. I began to do a call-around to people who would be best to do the essay in terms of moving the book. There was a general agreement that it would be Irving Howe, because at that particular time World of Our Fathers was big, and that was a big thing.

What kind of people did you rely on?

People who knew publishing. I had to do it in the publishing field because it was a book. Turns out this was a book that was neither fish nor fowl. It became a big problem when it got in to the commercial market.

But I got on the phone, and I started to talk to people. By the time we were ready, I had sold 25,000 copies.

25,000?!

25,000 copies.

To whom?

To unions. First I went in to the 1,000, four dollars. Then 500, five dollars. Then there were unions who said, “I only want 100.” So I began to scale the price down for them.

Who were the big purchasers? UAW --

UAW, AFSCME, RWDSU bought 500. Steel.