Sen. Elizabeth Warren plans book on middle class

[March 20, 2013]  NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, already an experienced author, has a lot more to write about.

The Massachusetts Democrat is working on a book she plans to call "Rigged." During a brief telephone interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday, she said "Rigged" will be a "firsthand" account of how she has fought for the middle class. She said it will cover her time chairing a Congressional oversight panel on the financial crisis, helping to set up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and her successful senate campaign last year.

"The title refers to how the economic system is too often rigged against families that work hard and play by the rules. The story is national, but it's also personal. These are issues close to my heart," said Warren, a favorite among liberals and a favorite target for conservatives, who opposed her appointment to head the consumer bureau. She instead ran for the U.S. Senate, defeating incumbent Sen. Scott Brown.

Warren's nine previous books include "All Your Worth" and "The Two-Income Trap," both co-written with her daughter, Amelia Tyagi.

Warren expects to meet with publishers within the next several weeks and hopes the book will be available next year. She will be represented by Washington attorney Robert Barnett, whose other clients have included two previous senators from Massachusetts, Brown and the late Edward M. Kennedy.

Any deal for "Rigged" is subject to approval by the Senate's ethics committee, and Warren said she will work on the book in her spare time. She will likely have some help, but does not plan to use a "traditional collaborator."

"I'll wait until we get a publisher" to see what kind of assistance will be needed, Warren said.

[Associated Press; By HILLEL ITALIE]

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