'Joe the Plumber' lands book deal

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The man who shot to fame in the recent US presidential election as "Joe the Plumber" is set to become "Joe the Published" after signing a book deal.

Samuel Wurzelbacher's book, Joe the Plumber: Fighting for the American Dream, will address his ideas about American values, his publisher says.

Mr Wurzelbacher sprang to fame when he challenged President-elect Barack Obama about his tax proposals in October.

He said he had chosen a small publisher in order to help "spread the wealth".

The term is a reference to the phrase used by Mr Obama when responding to a question from Mr Wurzelbacher about raising taxes for people who earn more than $250,000 (£166,000) a year.

The Republican candidate, Senator John McCain, later used the term in an effort to discredit Mr Obama's tax policies, and gave Mr Wurzelbacher a starring role in his campaign rallies and debates.

'Not cashing in'

Just days before the election, Mr Wurzelbacher insisted he would not seek to "cash in" on his fame with a lucrative book deal from a major publisher.

Everyone came at me to write a book - they had dollar signs in their eyes Samuel Wurzelbacher <a class="" href="/1/hi/world/americas/us_elections_2008/7673170.stm">Profile: Joe Wurzelbacher</a>

"Everyone came at me to write a book. They had dollar signs in their eyes," he told Fox News.

"You know I will get behind something solid, but I won't get behind fluff. I won't cash in, and when people do read the book they will figure out that I didn't cash in. At least I hope they figure that out."

The plumber-turned-election-fixture also told Fox that he was short on cash and unemployed.

"I got no financial offers. I am broke," he added.

The terms of the book deal with Texas-based PearlGate Publishing have not been revealed, but the publisher said paperback copies would go on sale at $14.95 (£10) in the US on 1 December.

The deal is not likely to come close to the $7m (£4.65m) figure rumoured to be on offer for a book by the former Republican vice-presidential hopeful, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

Mr Wurzelbacher's book is being co-written by Thomas Tabback, the author of the only other book so far published by PearlGate.