US First Lady Hillary Clinton has nabbed a major book deal with publishing giant Simon and Schuster with a reported eight million dollars advance, US media reported Saturday.
The quest for Hillary's memoirs unleashed a furious bidding among major publishing houses eager for the inside scoop on her eight years in the White House.
The winner of the bidding war, Simon and Schuster, has also published the first lady's earlier books, a compilation of letters sent to the White House pets and a photographic essay about entertaining at the White House.
The new book is expected to include a frank narrative about her experience as the wife of President Bill Clinton, through the glory days and the humiliating scandals.
The New York Times reported earlier this year that negotiations for Clinton's memoirs were tense because the first lady had requested that her advance be almost the entirety of any negotiated sum, a rarity in the publishing world.
Clinton has secured for herself a unique place in American history, becoming the only first lady elected to the US Congress.
Beginning January 3, 2001 she will represent the state of New York in the US Senate, and is considered one of the shining stars of the US legislature's freshman class.
The first lady and her husband owe several million dollars in legal fees to attorneys who defended them during the various scandals that plagued them over the last eight years, including federal investigations into the Whitewater real estate venture in Arkansas; sexual harassment allegations by former Arkansas state employee Paula Jones; and the Monica Lewinsky sex-and-lies scandal, which ultimately led to Clinton's impeachment -- WASHINGTON (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
