Joe the Plumber, a.k.a. Samuel Wurzelbacher, landed on the national stage on Oct. 15, when John McCain brought him up during a debate with Barack Obama. The Ohio-based tradesman wasn't planning on national stardom -- if he had been, he probably would have renewed his plumber's license -- but he's managing his time in the spotlight with an agent and a book deal. An amazingly fast book deal: It's due on shelves on Dec. 1.

Mediabistro's Unbeige has a preview of the cover of "Joe the Plumber -- Fighting for the American Dream." The book will be released, Fox News reports, "by a group called PearlGate Publishing and other small publishing houses."

PearlGate Publishing has released one other book, "Things Forgotten" by author/publisher Thomas Tabback. In it, "I wanted to marry the account given in the Book of Joshua with direct historical evidence," Tabback writes on his website. "You can use the Bible and extra-biblical history together as a roadmap to the past." The book's opening, titled "The Promised Land," ends with this paragraph:

Yet, as it was written, Israel invaded Canaan and the events that transpired were immortalized within the Bible, forever changing the course of history. Though acts of God and triumphs and failures of Israel are recorded in poetic detail, lost are the personal accounts of those who lived it. No account, save the biblical record, has ever been discovered.

Tabback could benefit from the help of a copy editor (the second "it" has no antecedent; "personal accounts who lived through those times," maybe?), but with a release date of Dec. 1, the publisher has got to be scrambling to finalize the manuscript. What's more, he's also the co-writer of "Joe the Plumber -- Fighting for the American Dream." That would be a lot of responsibility for a seasoned publishing professional; Tabback must really have his hands full.

Tabback's short bio on the PearlGate website doesn't reveal any publishing experience other than his own book. Tabback does have a Southern California connection, though -- he once worked at Universal Studios in Hollywood, and was here during the 1994 Northridge earthquake. So he's experienced at least one bumpy ride.



-- Carolyn Kellogg

Photo: Lori King / Associated Press