Oh boy -- here it comes:

Monday, April 26, 2004

2:00 p.m. EST

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

BILL CLINTON’S MEMOIR, MY LIFE, TO BE PUBLISHED BY KNOPF THIS JUNE

NEW YORK, April 26, 04 – Former President Bill Clinton's memoirs will be published in June, it was announced today by Sonny Mehta, President and Editor in Chief of Alfred A. Knopf. My Life, an account of Clinton's life through the White House years, is one of the most eagerly awaited books of recent time. The book will go on sale nationwide in late June, with a first printing of 1.5 million copies. My Life will also be available from Random House Audio (abridged), read by President Clinton.

"Bill Clinton tells an extraordinary story in My Life," said Mehta. "It is a riveting personal drama as well as a fascinating look at the American political arena over the past four decades. He talks with candor about his successes, as well as his setbacks, looking at both his career in public service and his life. 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 honor of publishing."

Robert Gottlieb, who has worked with some of the most distinguished authors of our time, including Katharine Graham, Toni Morrison, Barbara Tuchman, and Robert Caro, is serving as the President’s editor at Knopf. "Working with President Clinton has been a privilege and a pleasure," Gottlieb said, "and his book is an astonishment – authentic, engaging, revelatory."

"President Clinton is a dominant figure on the global stage," Mehta said, "and readers around the world will be eager to hear his story." According to Mehta, President Clinton will embark on a national and international author tour immediately upon release of the book.

Alfred A. Knopf is the flagship imprint of the Knopf Publishing Group, which is a division of Random House, Inc., whose parent company is Bertelsmann AG, the international media company. For more information about Alfred A. Knopf, visit our website at http://www.aaknopf.com.

I just got this via e-mail. It's not a hoax. Apparently the Big Dog's really doing it.