Bill Clinton Is Writing a Book About His Post-Presidential Life

While Bill Clinton has been out of public office for nearly two decades, he and Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, have remained fixtures on the national political scene. The former president’s standing was in decline during the 2018 midterm elections, however, with few Democrats seeking to campaign with him because of controversy over policies like the 1990s crime bill and his personal misconduct with women, which has come under a new spotlight because of the #MeToo movement.

It is unclear how much of the book, if any, will deal with Hillary Clinton’s two campaigns for president, or if Bill Clinton will address the criticisms of his policy record or his personal behavior. He has mostly avoided those topics in his public appearances.

Paul Bogaards, an executive vice president for the publisher, Knopf Doubleday, said there was still no timetable for publication and that while the book is about Clinton’s post-White House life it is still too “early to assess what ground will be covered.” Angel Ureña, Clinton’s press secretary, declined to comment on the contents of book.

Clinton’s longtime attorney, Robert B. Barnett, negotiated the agreement with Knopf Doubleday. The sum was not disclosed.

The book will be Clinton’s fifth since leaving the White House in 2001, including his best-selling autobiography, “My Life,” and most recently, his first best-selling novel, which was co-written with James Patterson (the title: “The President is Missing”).

The Clintons have remained public presences even since Hillary Clinton’s surprise 2016 loss to Donald Trump. Bill Clinton went on a book and media tour to promote his novel with Patterson, which included some discussions of the #MeToo movement.

Bill and Hillary Clinton currently have plans for an 11-stop joint speaking tour that will continue in April in New York City.

Their daughter, Chelsea Clinton, announced on Monday that she is pregnant with her third child, due later this summer.

On a book tour of her own last fall, Chelsea Clinton left open the possibility that she could run for political office herself someday, telling the local Westchester paper, “I think if someone were to step down or retire and I thought I could do a good job and it matched my talents, I’d have to think if it’s the right choice for me.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.