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'Huckleberry Finn' Without N-Word: Too Far?

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Some are crying censorship as a new edition of Mark Twain's classic novels "Huckleberry Finn" and "Tom Sawyer" goes into print ... with one significant change.

The release omits the n-word from the novels. It normally appears 219 times in "Huck Finn" and four times in "Tom Sawyer."

According to CNN, the books replace the word with "slave."

Many schools banned the book from classic reading lists because of the word. The books new publisher says he hopes the change will reverse that.

Critics say the decision makes the books untrue to the era they were written about.

"Huckleberry Finn" in particular appears near the top of many lists of the greatest American novels ever written.

WCCO-TV's Mike Binkley Reports

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