Following news of an "instant book" version of Elizabeth Alexander's inaugural poem, Barack Obama will get the practically-instant-book treatment from the NY Times in February.

Riverhead books will publish Obama: The Historic Journey in mid-February, reported FishbowlNY this morning. Loaded with photographs, the collector's item book was sold by Scott Moyers at The Wylie Agency.

Here's more, from the post: "[The book includes] a 32-page photo essay by 12 New York Times staff photographers, with an introduction by NYT executive editor Bill Keller and essays from Times staff and contributors including Frank Rich, Thomas Friedman, Paul Krugman, Maureen Dowd, David Brooks, and Gail Collins, to Geoff Kloske."