Cheney Inks Book Deal, Heads to Explode

We have at least two years of build-up before his book is released, giving the angry left plenty of time to have an enduring freak-out. I'll say this: You can virtually guarantee this will be a No. 1 bestseller and will be greeted with ignominious disdain by literary critics. One can almost envision protest marches outside the offices of Simon & Schuster already materializing.

The memoir by Cheney, widely considered the most powerful vice president in history, is expected to be published in Spring 2011, a few months after President George W. Bush's book comes out. Cheney's work is currently untitled and will cover his long career in government, from chief of staff under President Gerald Ford to vice president under Bush, from Vietnam and Watergate to the first Gulf War and the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

In a telephone interview Tuesday with The Associated Press, the 68-year-old Cheney noted that he had never written a book about his years in government, which dates back to the 1960s.

"I'm persuaded there are a lot of interesting stories that ought to be told," Cheney said. "I want my grandkids, 20 or 30 years from now, to be able to read it and understand what I did, and why I did it."
Financial terms were not disclosed. A publishing official with knowledge of the negotiations, but not authorized to publicly discuss, said the deal was likely worth at least $2 million. Cheney's literary representative, Washington attorney Robert Barnett, declined comment.

Known for his secrecy while in the Bush administration, Cheney has made it clear since leaving office that he was planning a memoir. He is working on the book — in longhand and on computer — at his home outside of Washington, D.C., and in collaboration with his daughter, Liz Cheney.

Books by former vice presidents rarely attract a lot of interest unless the author is likely to run for president (Richard Nixon had a best seller in the early 1960s with "Six Crises"), or claims an expertise outside of electoral politics (Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth," released in 2006 and the companion to the Academy Award-winning documentary about global warming).

What exactly is Algore's expertise outside of bamboozling a gullible public with misinformation while lining his pockets?

The book will be published by Simon & Schuster's Threshold Editions imprint, founded in 2005 and headed by a longtime Cheney friend and former aide: Republican strategist Mary Matalin. Threshold has become an unofficial publishing home to the Cheney family, releasing memoirs by Cheney's wife Lynne Cheney and by daughter Mary Cheney.

Matalin has not only reaffirmed her Washington connections, but tapped into — like few others — the current conservative market. She has published one of the most popular works of 2009, Mark Levin's "Liberty and Tyranny," and recently released "Glenn Beck's Common Sense," which on Tuesday ranked No. 1 on Amazon.com.

At least when contrasted with Barack Obama, we'll actually know who wrote this book.