Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's memoir has sold to Knopf, surprising many, including Knopf editor Ash Green: "I thought Rupert Murdoch would get it," he said. "Because Murdoch for ten years supported Blair through his newspapers, and he has the Sunday Times first serialization, and he has HarperCollins, that seemed to be a natural fit. Our English cousins have strong connections to Blair, but I didn't think they quite equaled... I think there was some wonder here whether the agent was using us as a stalking horse to get Murdoch's price up." [NYO]