Former US Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan has sold his memoirs to Penguin Press, the publisher said.
"He wants to write a general interest book that will last for many generations," said Ann Godoff, a publisher at Penguin Press. "He is loaded with anecdotes and goes from one to the next."
Greenspan, who for 18 years kept stock markets on tenterhooks with his carefully worded forecasts on the economy and interest rates, received an advance of more than US$8 million for his memoirs, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The book is expected to be published late next year and provide insights into the ups and downs of the US economy during the past two decades. Greenspan, 79, who was head of the Fed under four US presidents, resigned on Jan. 31.
"We think he is going to write a book that will live for a long time," said Susan Petersen Kennedy, president of Penguin Group (USA). "He lived through an amazing part of history and he was never able to speak out. He had to be very careful because of his position."
The advance, if confirmed, would be among the largest in US publishing history. Former US president Bill Clinton received US$10 million for his memoir, while his wife, Senator Hillary Clinton, was paid US$8 million for hers.
Penguin Press was chosen after a four-day auction in which more than a dozen publishers participated, the WSJ said.
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