BOOK REVIEW
Gores hit road again for the American family

By Bob Minzesheimer
USA Today

Al and Tipper Gore document the American family in a blend of interviews and photographs. Advertiser library photo

The books, including a photo album, deal with modern American families and are described as neither memoirs nor strictly political.

"Joined at the Heart: The Transformation of the American Family" and a companion photo book, "Between Us: The Spirit of Family," are to be published in October.

The Gores, both 53 and grandparents after 31 years of marriage, are dealing with life out of public office for the first time since he was elected to Congress in 1976.

They signed a book deal a year ago that was largely overlooked until the announcement last week that they'll be among the main speakers at BookExpo America, an annual convention of booksellers and publishers in New York in May.

Henry Holt publisher John Sterling said the Gores are working together, without a ghostwriter, and will deal with "What does the American family look like? That's a much more complicated question than it used to be."

He described "Joined at the Heart" as a blend of personal experiences, public policy and interviews with a dozen other families. "Between Us" will include 250 photos from two dozen photographers, perhaps including Tipper Gore, a passionate photographer who published "Picture This: A Visual Diary" in 1996.

She also wrote "Raising PG Kids in an X-Rated Society" in 1987 as part of her campaign against violent and sexually degrading music lyrics.

Sterling, who edited Gore's 1992 best seller on the environment, "Earth in the Balance," says that "aside from politics," the former vice president, who began his career as a newspaper reporter in Nashville, "has two passions: writing and family. This brings them together."

In the past year, Gore has lectured at several colleges, worked as an investment adviser for a financial services firm and grown a beard.

He jokes that he "used to be the next president of the United States." Last weekend at a fund-raiser for Tennessee Democrats, he critiqued President Bush's domestic policies and proclaimed, "I intend to rejoin the national debate."

According to an associate, Gore hasn't decided whether to run for president in 2004, but looks on a book tour as a chance to get out and discuss issues, from child care to aging parents.

Sterling won't discuss financial terms of the Gores' book deal. Likely it bears no resemblance to the huge advances won by former President Bill Clinton ($10 million to $12 million) and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton ($8 million) for their separate memoirs, which are expected in 2003. Unlike the Clintons, the Gores didn't solicit bids in an auction among rival publishers.

The Gores agreed to a national book tour, including TV appearances and book signings. They may want to heed Clinton, the ultimate campaigner, who said his 1996 book, "Between Hope and History", "didn't sell well because I didn't promote it." As Clinton told C-SPAN: "Books sell when people go around and go on book tours and talk about them and do interview shows, sit in bookstores and sign copies for hours."

Sounds like a political campaign.