Axelrod signs deal for autobiography

CHICAGO, April 9 (UPI) -- David Axelrod, the political strategist who helped propel U.S. President Barack Obama to the White House, is writing a memoir, his publisher said.

The New York Times said Axelrod signed a deal with Penguin worth as much as $1.5 million to write a memoir. Axelrod said he doesn't intend for the book to be a dishy tell-all of White House gossip. He intends to write about his full career, including his early years as a journalist and his decades in politics prior to signing on with Obama for the 2008 campaign.

Axelrod is also close with controversial former politicians including disgraced North Carolina Sen. John Edwards and jailed former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who will make appearances in the book.

It is slated for a fall 2014 release.