Following the publication of James Carroll's Mortal Friends in 1978, the author was honored with a special tour of the Little, Brown warehouse in Boston:

"My host and tour guide, a Little, Brown executive, showed me the assembly line along which workers wrapped, boxed, and mailed off books to wholesalers and bookstores. At one point he introduced me to one of the workers who said, 'Mr. Carroll, we all just love your book.'

"I took that as the greatest compliment an author could receive. To think that these workers had actually troubled to read my book.

"But then she went on. 'We just love it. It's the perfect size for packing.'"