Clinton memoirs 'to be revealing'

Mr Clinton has been working on his memoirs for two years

Former US President Bill Clinton's long-awaited memoirs will go on sale in June, his publishers have announced.

Mr Clinton's account of eight years in the White House is candid and revealing, Sonny Mehta, president and editor-in-chief of Alfred A Knopf said.

"It is a riveting personal drama as well," he added.

The book, which reputedly earned Mr Clinton a fee of more than $10m, is expected to sell well and has an initial print run of 1.5 million.

"He talks with candour about his successes, as well as his setbacks, looking at both his career in public service and his life," Mr Mehta said in a statement.

"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 honour of publishing," he added.

Mr Clinton, who has been working on the text for two years, will embark on a worldwide promotional tour after the book is published.

Damaging publicity

Some political analysts have suggested that publicity surrounding the book might damage likely Democrat presidential candidate John Kerry ahead of November's election.

"Kerry wants to be the story, he needs to be the story and Clinton will hog the spotlight as only a Clinton can," Republican adviser Nelson Warfield told Reuters news agency.

Mr Clinton had promised the Democratic National Committee that the book would come out before the party convention in late July, the New York Times reported.

President Clinton with Monica Lewinsky at a rally before the scandal broke

There is no word so far on whether Mr Clinton's book will reveal additional details about the scandals that plagued his final days in office and continue to taint his legacy.

He was accused of many marital infidelities, most famously with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

That affair led to charges of lying under oath and obstructing justice.

Presidential political biographies have traditionally had limited appeal.

Former President Herbert Hoover's memoir included details of figures for dried fruit exports.

However, memoirs written by first ladies have tended to sell well - Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan's wives accounts sold better than their husbands'.

Hillary Clinton's 2003 account of life in the White House, Living History, sold 1.7 million copies and set a sales record for non-fiction books.