Former
US President Bill Clinton's long-awaited memoirs will go on sale
in June, his publishers have announced.
Mr Clinton's account of eight years in the White House is candid
and revealing, Sonny Mehta, president and editor-in-chief of Alfred
A Knopf said.
"It is a riveting personal drama as well," he added.
The book, which reputedly earned Mr Clinton a fee of more than
$10m, is expected to sell well and has an initial print run of
1.5 million.
"He talks with candour about his successes, as well as his
setbacks, looking at both his career in public service and his
life," Mr Mehta said in a statement.
"It is the fullest and most nuanced account of a presidency
ever written, and one of the most revealing and remarkable memoirs
I have ever had the honour of publishing," he added.
Mr Clinton, who has been working on the text for two years, will
embark on a worldwide promotional tour after the book is published.
Some political analysts have suggested that publicity surrounding
the book might damage likely Democrat presidential candidate John
Kerry ahead of November's election.
"Kerry wants to be the story, he needs to be the story and
Clinton will hog the spotlight as only a Clinton can," Republican
adviser Nelson Warfield said.
Mr Clinton had promised the Democratic National Committee that
the book would come out before the party convention in late July,
the New York Times reported.
There is no word so far on whether Mr Clinton's book will reveal
additional details about the scandals that plagued his final days
in office.
He was accused of many marital infidelities, most famously with
White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
That affair led to his impeachment over charges of lying under
oath and obstructing justice.
Presidential political biographies have traditionally had limited
appeal.
Former President Herbert Hoover's memoir included details of
figures for dried fruit exports.
However, memoirs written by first ladies have tended to sell
well - Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan's wives accounts sold better
than their husbands'.
Hillary Clinton's 2003 account of life in the White House, Living
History, sold 1.7 million copies and set a sales record for non-fiction
books.
(Agencies)