In the world of big-time politics and publishing, the $900,000 deal that Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards got for his recent book was not extraordinary.

What jumped out was the source of Edwards' paycheck -- conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch.

The deal raised eyebrows for two reasons. Edwards, a former senator from North Carolina, has been a biting critic of Murdoch and his TV network, Fox News. And Murdoch has often been accused of using lucrative book deals to curry favor with powerful politicians.

The generous contract offered by Murdoch's publishing company, HarperCollins, for Edwards' 2006 book "Home: The Blueprints of Our Lives," had publishing industry executives scratching their heads.

"That's a deal I would question," said Morgan Entrekin, publisher of Grove/Atlantic. "Given the economics of the business, I don't see how you could make back that kind of money on a coffee table book, which tends to be a hard sale."

Edwards said he donated his proceeds from the book to charity. The Edwards campaign declined to release the specific amounts donated or provide a copy of Edwards' contract with HarperCollins. Colleen Murray, a campaign spokeswoman, said she could provide no information on whether the Edwardses claimed any tax advantages from their charitable gifts.

Big deals are common

It is not unusual for Murdoch to offer large contracts to prominent politicians. His companies had previously offered big book deals to such notables as then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Senate Majority leader Trent Lott and former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Such large book contracts are common in the world of big-time politics. Two of Edwards' chief rivals, Sens. Hillary Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois, have received far more lucrative book deals.

The unlikely business partnership between Edwards and Murdoch drew little attention until recent days.

Edwards said he thought the book's contract details were confidential. But Murdoch's executives made them public after Edwards launched a string of attacks against Murdoch.

Earlier this year, Edwards led an effort to persuade Democrats to boycott a presidential debate sponsored by Fox News, the network that is part of Murdoch's media empire. In recent weeks, Edwards has publicly opposed Murdoch's purchase of Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal. Then, in late July, he criticized Clinton for accepting $20,000 in contributions from executives from the News Corp., Murdoch's firm.

The news of Edwards' book deal was leaked to the New York Post, a Murdoch-owned tabloid, which reported it with a sense of glee. The headline was "EDWARDS IN A BIZ HATE & $WITCH."

Andrew Butcher, a News Corp. spokesman, said HarperCollins paid Edwards a $500,000 advance and $300,000 in expenses to be used in the production of the book. The publisher spent an additional $120,000 on publicity.

So far, sales have been modest for the book, which contains photos and essays by 60 Americans, including musician John Mellencamp, chef Mario Batali and unheralded social workers, farmers and others about their childhood homes. Edwards is credited as the book's editor, along with his daughter, Cate Edwards, and Jonathan Prince, who is now his deputy campaign manager.

There are 67,500 copies of the 164-page book in print, according to a HarperCollins spokesman. Nielsen Bookscan, a national tracking service whose figures usually represent about 70 percent of a book's sales, reports that it has sold 20,000 copies -- suggesting total sales of perhaps 26,000.

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