Publishers Ponder Rove Book

In announcing that he was stepping down as President Bush’s top political adviser, Karl Rove said yesterday that he wanted to write a book about his White House years.Publishers, with some reservations, would like to see what he has in mind.“If he’s ready to talk about what he’s been doing, to lay out how he developed his architectural plans and then implemented them, and what his vision is, I think that book would have significant readership,” says Steve Ross, publisher of the Collins division at HarperCollins and the publisher of Senator Obama’s “The Audacity of Hope” when Mr. Ross headed the Crown Publishing Group.Mr. Rove, a ruthless and relentless strategist who masterminded Mr. Bush’s races for the White House and became the most influential political adviser of his time, said Monday that he wanted to “start thinking about the next chapter in our family’s life.”Messrs. Rove and Bush have known each other for more than 30 years, dating back to Mr. Bush’s years in Texas. Mr. Bush nicknamed Mr. Rove “the architect” and “boy genius” for successfully plotting two national election strategies and helping strengthen Republican majorities in Congress in 2002 and 2004.“He’s clearly one of the most controversial, notorious, and elusive figures in politics, and I think that people would be interested in looking behind the curtain and seeing what the Wizard of Oz is actually saying,” says Jonathan Karp, publisher of the Twelve Imprint at Grand Central Publishing.But, Mr. Karp cautions, he wonders how much Mr. Rove would disclose.“He said the president has encouraged him to write a book, so one would not expect complete candor. Rove’s historical value would be in a candid rendering of the Bush presidency,” says Mr. Karp, who just published a book by Senator McCain, a Republican contender for the 2008 race.Ashbel Green, a senior editor at Alfred A. Knopf, says that any book from Mr. Rove would be of interest, if only because of Mr. Rove’s well publicized passion for politics and history. He has invited numerous scholars to the White House and prides himself on his knowledge of the past.“I think there will be a lot of interest from publishers, because he is obviously a very intelligent guy,” says Ms. Green, who edited a book, “A World Transformed,” co-authored by the first President Bush.Asked what kind of money Mr. Rove might receive, Mr. Karp and Ms. Green each said they doubted he would receive anything close to the multimillion dollar contracts of a former Federal Reserve chairman, Alan Greenspan, or of President Clinton.Mr. Karp noted that Mr. Rove’s reputation has declined since the Republicans lost control of Congress in 2006, despite Mr. Rove’s boastful predictions of long-term GOP dominance. Ms. Green said Mr. Rove’s advance could reach the mid-six figures, but not higher, if only because Mr. Rove lacked the charisma of Mr. Clinton.“He doesn’t have the personality,” Ms. Green said.

Publishers Ponder Rove Book

Publishers Ponder Rove Book

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