ALEX HALEY - TYPED LETTER SIGNED - HFSID 266586

ALEX HALEY
Alex Haley sends a typed letter of apology for disrupting a friends day.
Typed Letter signed: Alex", 5½x3¼. Rome, New York, no date (but pencil date in unknown hand: "Feb. 1966". To Barbara McClure, New York, New York. In full: "So good indeed to see you and Alison the day I dropped in on you at work. Must apologize for thus unexpectedly cluttering your schedule: I do know better, but there I was, I saw the identity of the building, and it clicked, and there was nothing else to do but just turn up. Next time in NYC will call you either ahead, or when I'm there, and we'll make dinner together hopefully. Oh - you'd want to know, there's now on stands a piece re me, in Feb. 5 Saturday Review, pps. 37-8. Seems funny to me to read of someone else writing about me, like photog having his pix taken, I guess. Relay my love to Alison when you write, and, again, I look forward to seeing you." Already known as the author of a definitive biography of Malcolm X (1965), which was based on interviews done with the Black leader in "Playboy" magazine, Haley (1921-1992) created a sensation -- and single-handedly launched a new interest in genealogy -- with his book, Roots. The saga, which traced his African roots, was first excerpted in "Reader's Digest" before publication in book form in 1976. The story, which was televised as a successful miniseries in 1977, resulted in a number of awards for Haley, including the National Book Award, a special Pulitzer Prize and the NAACP's Spingarn Medal as well as several honorary doctor of letters degrees for his research, which spanned 12 years. Lightly toned. Staple holes in upper left corner. Cancellation marks show through lightly, touching three words of text. Otherwise, fine condition.