The British prime minister is a hot topic at present, with Harper's Tim Duggan having already signed a swift book on Blair and the Iraq war by British journalist Peter Stothard for publication in a couple of months. Now Rick Kot at Viking has signed another senior U.K. newsman, Philip Stevens of the Financial Times, to do a more detailed and considered bio, tracing Blair from childhood days right up to his agonizing over the war and Britain's role as an arbiter between the U.S. and Europe. Kot bought North American rights from British agent Felicity Bryan and plans to publish next January.