NEW YORK -- Desert Storm commander Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf is on the verge of another battlefield victory -- this one in New York, in the bidding war over who publishes his life story.
Industry sources said that Stormin' Norman was in the trenches yesterday quietly meeting with major New York publishing houses. The behind-the-scenes negotiation sessions took place this weekend at the East Side apartment of his agent, Marvin Josephson, the chairman of International Creative Management.
The price of admission: An advance of $3 million to $5 million-plus for worldwide rights.
Former President Ronald Reagan was reportedly paid a $1 million advance for his autobiography, "Ronald Reagan: An American Life."
"[Schwarzkopf] bowls you over," says Harold Evans, president of Random House, who met with Schwarzkopf for about two hours. Other publishers said to be in the running: Random House, Little, Brown & Co., Harper-Collins and Bantam-Doubleday-Dell.