Magic Johnson’s Book on AIDS

Your editorial observation on Magic Johnson’s book “What You Can Do to Avoid AIDS” (Aug. 9) struck a responsive chord. Because of its forthright language, including “slang for some anatomical terms,” this slim but valuable volume has been barred from several of the nation’s largest mass marketers. Rather than refusing to stock the book, these same marketers might make a real contribution by deeply discounting it or even giving it away as a public service.

It’s a situation we at Playboy are well familiar with. Our magazine has been a leader in providing accurate, unemotional and regularly updated information on AIDS since well before it was even known by that name. Our company also helped establish a fellowship in AIDS research at the City of Hope and recently gave its corporate grounds at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles for a major KABC radiothon to raise funds for and consciousness about AIDS.

We’re mad as hell that some major retailers won’t carry our magazine despite our award-winning editorial content. And, we’re miffed at The Times for that final paragraph, which implied that because we’re not on the shelves at Kmart, Wal-Mart and Walgreen, we are a “sleazy production.”

Let’s be a bit more careful about labeling one another, or someone’s liable to start applying some unsavory adjectives to the West Coast’s newspaper of record when it writes about topics they feel to be too “sensitive” for their clientele.

MICHAEL S. PERLIS

Playboy President and Publisher

New York