Former HP Board Member Signs Book Deal

The book, Valley Boy: The Education of Tom Perkins, is set to kick off with a look at his "tense resignation from HP" this past May, according to a written statement from his publisher Gotham Books, an arm of well-known publisher, the Penguin Group.

The publisher is calling the book a "selective, unconventional, and revealing memoir." It is scheduled to be published in the fall of 2007.

Perkins, widely known as a Silicon Valley venture capitalist, is a founder of Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers. He began working for HP in 1957 and became the administrative head of the company's research laboratories and later the first general manager of its computer businesses.

Perkins was a highly positioned board member at HP this past spring when he resigned in protest after details of the company's media leak probe identified George Keyworth as the one who leaked the information. Keyworth initially refused to resign, but later acquiesced. He maintained that he spoke to reporters for the benefit of the company and was not leaking harmful information.

It was former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina who originally called for the boardroom leak investigation, which ultimately spiraled out of control and embroiled HP in a scandal that has produced criminal investigations and a Congressional hearing. In an interview this past October with InformationWeek, Fiorina said Perkins' departure from the board creates an opportunity to build a "stronger and better board." She also said allowing Perkins to rejoin the board during her tenure was one of the biggest mistakes she made while she was at HP.

Former Chairman Patricia Dunn was mired in the scandal and resigned from the board this past September.

According to Gotham Books, Perkins also is set to write about his marriage to author Danielle Steele, his trial for manslaughter in a "backwater French town", and the creation of Genetech.

"Tom Perkins has always been his own man, and not only is he writing his own memoir, but he is doing it in a very original and insightful way," said William Shinker, president and publisher of Gotham Books.