To strive, to seek, to find…

Well well well. That should help with the mortgage.

Here’s AP on the bidding war:

NEW YORK (AP) — The memoirs of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the object of an international bidding war that went on for days, have been acquired by imprints of Random House Inc. in the United States and England.

[...]

“He has a remarkable story to tell,” Knopf chairman Sonny Mehta said in a statement. “His tenure as prime minister was marked by close relationships with Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush, and he enjoys a profile in this country that is rare among foreign leaders.”

Funny, that.

[Still wondering about the boy wizards? Not appreciating the J.K. Rowling dig? See Harry Potter's "left-wing hero" credentials here]

The AP article has some fun info on the forthcoming publication.

Item the first: “I hope my memoirs will provide a serious and thoughtful, but also entertaining, reflection on my time as a member of Parliament and as prime minister,” Blair said in a statement issued Thursday by publishers Hutchinson in England and Alfred A. Knopf in the United States.

“Entertaining” may be in short supply from about 6 years in.

Numero deux: The success of prime ministers’ memoirs in the United States usually depends on the fame of the author, with books by Margaret Thatcher and Sir Winston Churchill attracting far more attention than the autobiography of John Major.

He’ll be fine. Probably. Maybe (look at the URL on the second one for a little giggle).

3: Blair himself has written “New Britain: My Vision of a Young Country,” a collection of speeches and articles that came out in 1997.

Go take a look. Better still though, get this.

And finally, fourth: A recent novel, Robert Harris’ “The Ghost,” is narrated by the ghostwriter of a former British prime minister, widely believed to be based on Blair. Upon entering a London publishing house, where he must pass through a metal detector, the narrator snaps: “Who’re you expecting to bomb you? Random House?”

Awesome.

For those of you hoping for a little scandal, well, The Times has this for you:

Mr Blair, who will write the book himself – there will be no ghostwriter – is expected to write frankly about his relationship with Gordon Brown.

However, it is understood that it will be done in a way that does not damage Mr Brown, who served as Chancellor throughout Mr Blair’s premiership. An informed source said: “Look, Tony is not about to dump on Gordon after all these years.”

“Dump on Gordon”? Who could that possibly sound like?

The Guardian reports some stuff Alistair Campbell said:

Those close to the former prime minister say the book will be “frank but not disloyal [to Brown]“. That suggests it could offer a fuller account of the two men’s dealings than his former communications chief Alastair Campbell’s recent diaries.

Mr Blair has strong ties with Random House: its UK wing is headed by Gail Rebuck, who is married to Mr Blair’s close ally and former pollster Lord Gould.

Many had predicted Mr Blair would reach a deal with Rupert Murdoch’s publishing arm, Harper Collins, which would almost certainly have made a higher bid.

But Mr Campbell, who also chose Random House, had privately told reporters that the boss would not sign up with Mr Murdoch. Friends of Mr Blair say he chose Random House “for a variety of factors”.

Fine. Fair enough. Surely there will be lots more to come on this.

A thought as you depart this post:

You just know you’ll have to get the set.