Hagel: Writing, Running, Or Both

In other book news, Nebraska senator and Iraq war foe Chuck Hagel doesn't know whether he's running for president yet, but the Republican's current literary project certainly points in that direction.

We've learned that Hagel is hard at work on America: The Next Chapter, a collection of practical-and reportedly nonpartisan-policy prescriptions on issues as diverse as healthcare and the Middle East. HarperCollins imprint Ecco will publish it early next year, around the time of the Iowa caucuses.

Hagel's keeping mum on his tome, but Ecco publisher Dan Halpern tells us the senator is taking his first draft mighty seriously: "He's said over and over again that this book is his legacy ... it's what is most important to him right now."

By Paul Bedard