President Clinton’s book tour hit its frenzied peak yesterday as thousands of gushing fans braved the rain and waited in line for hours for the chance to have the former president sign his newly released 957-page memoir, “My Life.”

The 57-year-old Chappaqua resident was greeted like a rock star at around 6:40 p.m., as throngs of Clinton fans clustered around the Hue-Man, a small Harlem bookstore specializing in African-American literature. Fans erupted in screams and applause when his black Suburban rolled in a little late.

Traffic on Frederick Douglas Boulevard came to a halt when the star struck crowd composed of mostly women spilled into the street and leaned against the police barricades.

As Mr. Clinton made a quick entrance into the one-story brick bookstore, some screamed, “We still love you.”

The crowd then peered through the windowpanes to catch a glimpse of Mr. Clinton, who would autograph 2,000 copies of his book at a rate of 500 an hour.

“He’s one of the best presidents we’ve ever had; I came all the way from Brooklyn just to get a glimpse of him,” said Audrey Campbell.

Mr. Clinton began his book tour yesterday at Barnes & Noble in Rockefeller Plaza. He will conclude the New York City part of his tour today with a final stop at Borders on Broadway between Wall and Pine streets.

When Mr. Clinton got out of his vehicle, waved, and walked into the 48th Street entrance of Barnes & Noble, the scores of people, many of whom had been waiting on the street since Monday evening, exploded with excitement.

Tony Cronin, who was in New York on vacation from London, was standing in front of the entrance and got a chance to see Mr. Clinton wave and walk into the store.

“What we really want is for him to take over Great Britain,” Mr. Cronin said.

Those who couldn’t make it to a book-signing yesterday had the option of watching Mr. Clinton interviewed on “Oprah.” Today he’ll be making appearances on NBC’s “Today” and ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

Tomorrow night, he’ll be on CNN with Larry King taking caller questions. Then his book tour heads to California.

Most of the people waiting in line in Midtown said they simply wanted the opportunity to meet the 42nd president, who scribbled his signature while slipping in a “Hello, dear” or “Bless you.”

Some people also wanted to use their 10 seconds of time with the former president to say something to him. Miriam Segal, who moved from Israel to New York only two years ago, said she wanted to thank Mr. Clinton.

“It’s a once in a lifetime experience,” Ms. Segal said. “I want to thank him for what he did for my country.”

Michael Mazzeo, 14, who described himself as an aspiring politician, had his moment with Mr. Clinton planned out to the second. He even had a brief speech written out on paper.

“Remember when you said one of the greatest moments of your life was shaking JFK’s hand, because that’s when you knew you would be entering politics?” Mr. Mazzeo wanted to say before grasping Mr. Clinton’s hand. He would then – as spelled out on his instruction paper – “shake” and add “From a future president to a former president, best of luck.”

“He gave me a two-hand shake and said, ‘Best of luck to you son, the best of luck.’ I felt elated,” Mr. Mazzeo said afterward.

Lynne Roberts, who arrived at Barnes & Noble at 9 p.m. Monday, described her meeting with Mr. Clinton as “short but intense.”

“I’ve always been a fan of Bill Clinton’s,” Ms. Roberts said, “but I think right now I miss feeling represented by my president, so I feel it even stronger.”

As he signed book after book sitting behind a table in front of red curtains, Mr. Clinton kept a smile on his face and greeted each customer with a look in the eye.

He rotated his greetings, saying, “Hi, buddy,” “Bless you,” “Thanks, man,” “Hi. How are you?” “Nice to see you,” and “Thank you for coming.”

Some people waved their newly signed books in the air like trophies, and one woman, Jo Young, even had tears in her eyes.

“I voted for him twice and never got to meet him,” Ms. Young said. “I just think he was a great president. He had great intelligence, integrity, eloquence, and he made us believe we could do better things than we’re doing. He made us believe again.”

Most of the people on line even said that they were going to read the book in its entirety. Though some said they would flip to the Monica Lewinsky scandal, others said they would sell the book on eBay for a profit.

Sarah El-Edlibi said that she was going to read the book from “cover to cover.”

“It’s $35!” Ms. El-Edlibi said. “I’m going to read it.”