a LOTT'a Book ...

Washingtonian: After Trent Lott was deposed as the Republicans' Senate majority leader two years ago, he signed a $200,000 book deal with HarperCollins publisher Judith Regan, in part to settle scores with his replacement, Bill Frist, and every senator who sided with Frist against him.

But after giving Lott the consolation of the powerful chairmanship of the Senate Rules Committee, Frist has carefully solicited Lott's advice about counting votes and making deals, acknowledging Lott is much better on those things than he is.

Frist's diplomatic strategy toward his foe has led Lott to experience private doubts as to whether doing a tell-all book was a smart thing. Written with celebrity biographer Peter Harry Brown, the still-unpublished book, Master of the Game, has a cover and a listing on Amazon.com. But it has not been released for sale.

Now that Frist has decided to leave the Senate and run for president, Lott is said to be fiercely torn over whether to publish. With Frist not seeking another term, Lott hopes he can get his leadership position back. Would the book sink that ambition?

On the other hand, if he does not produce a final manuscript, Lott would be bound to return the $100,000 he's already received of the advance. He wouldn’t get any of the second half normally paid on publication.

According to book-industry sources, the new official publication date for Lott's tell-all is November 2006 or later, although one New York industry source already calls it-unofficially-"DOA."