Not that he necessarily needed to follow up 2004's mega-advance, bestselling MY LIFE, but so the former president has nonetheless, as the NYT's Motoko Rich reports. It'll be a book on citizen activism and service, to be published by Alfred A. Knopf sometime late next year or early in 2008. Though none of the principals involved in the deal, from literary agent Bob Barnett to Knopf's Sonny Mehta (who bought it) and Robert Gottlieb (who'll edit it) commented to the Times, one industry veteran with knowledge of the deal estimated that Knopf is paying an advance of around $5 million.

The new book will cover the work of the Clinton Foundation, the nonprofit group the president set up to work on issues including AIDS, poverty, women's empowerment and religious and racial reconciliation, Barnett said. "Since leaving public office, I have met so many good people who are doing tremendous work to help improve the lives of people in the U.S. and around the world," Clinton said in a statement. "We all have the capacity to do great things like this, and I am writing this book to encourage others to join their ranks."

All well and good, but I can't help but think that the time spent on editing Clinton's book will take away from my pet fantasy project, that being Robert Gottlieb's own memoirs. I mean, can you imagine the stories he could tell?