For those keeping score, last month Knopf announced that it was publishing Carl Bernstein's 640-page book A WOMAN IN CHARGE: THE LIFE OF HILLARY CLINTON, originally planned for the fall, on June 19, surprising Little, Brown, which was scheduled to publish its own Hillary book by Jeff Nerth and Don Van Natta Jr., HER WAY: THE HOPES AND AMBITIONS OF HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, on Aug. 28. Then, this month, Little, Brown said it had also decided to move its publication date to June 19, making the rivalry abundantly clear.

Now the release date wars have really heated up, reports the New York Times' Motoko Rich. Bernstein's book will now publish on June 5, with Nerth and Van Natta's to follow only three days later. Knopf spokesman Paul Bogaards said the push-up correlates to the Democratic primary debate in New Hampshire on June 3 which "presented a significant coverage event for our book." Little, Brown publisher Michael Pietsch explained HER WAY would be excerpted in The New York Times Magazine on June 3, which prompted the move of its on-sale date to June 8. "It's not Belmont, mind you," Bogaards said, "but I like the fact that our horse is already saddled up and in the paddock, ready to run, shall we say." Thankfully, Pietsch did not engage in any horse metaphors, and the books can't be moved up any further lest booksellers' headaches worsen..