By Louise Radnofsky and Susan Davis

If Washington Wire readers are interested in reading Andrew Young’s forthcoming tell-all on his decade behind the scenes with John Edwards, the story heats up on page 154 when Young begins to recount how the 2008 presidential hopeful and former Democratic Party vice presidential nominee was taken down by an extramarital affair and a brazen attempt to hide his daughter’s paternity.

As most readers already know, former Sen. Edwards from North Carolina had an affair with Rielle Hunter while his wife, Elizabeth, was battling cancer and he was plotting a path to the White House. When Hunter, a videographer hired by the Edwards campaign, became pregnant, Edwards persuaded longtime “body man” Young to claim he was the father. Young went into hiding with his wife, their three children — and Hunter. Shortly afterwards, the affair was uncovered by the National Enquirer and eventually the mainstream media.

Young describes his alleged discovery of a compromising videotape of Edwards and a naked, pregnant lover, identified by Young as Hunter. “It was like watching a traffic pileup occur in slow motion — it was repelling but also transfixing,” he writes.

Young, who has severed his ties with the Edwards family, tells his side of the tale in “The Politician: An Insider’s Account of John Edwards’s Pursuit of the Presidency and the Scandal that Brought Him Down.” The book is set for a Feb. 2 release by St. Martin’s Press. Washington Wire purchased a copy Monday at a Washington, D.C.-area book store.

Last Thursday, Edwards publicly owned up to fathering Frances Quinn Hunter, born Feb. 27, 2008.

Edwards spokeswoman Joyce Fitzpatrick said he has not seen the book and would not comment on the allegations. Elizabeth Edwards could not be reached for comment. Hunter’s lawyer did not return multiple calls requesting comment.

Here are some of the highlights, which Young says are all based on eyewitness accounts and conversations he had with the Edwardses and Hunter, and in some cases, he writes that he has voicemails, emails and notes to back up his story.

Donations: “S–t, they love me — they would do anything for me,” John Edwards would say after getting a big donation, Young writes. If refused, he would say, “What the hell — why are they wasting my time? I’m going to be president. I don’t have time for this s–t. Everyone wants to give me advice. I don’t want their advice. I want their money.”…