The most local of that crowd, U.S. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, visited Waldenbooks in downtown Charleston Saturday to sign copies of his recently released "Four Trials," written with John Auchard.

Asked why he wrote the book now, Edwards said he'd wanted to do it for a long time. He was quick to point out that his book is different from a lot of the books by his political competitors. The one Democratic candidate who has not authored a book is former Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley Braun.

"You won't see the words 'presidential campaign' anywhere in this book," Edwards said, after scribbling messages such as "Best wishes" in about 50 book copies.

His is not a political book, he said, but a personal story he thinks readers will identify with.

In his tale, Edwards weaves details of his life and character into the plots of four legal cases he won during his 20 years as a North Carolina lawyer, before entering the Senate in 1998.

Each chapter of Edwards' book is entitled simply with the first name of the central character in each case. All were everyday Americans wronged and left in the cold by established powerful people, corporations and institutions, he said.

Edwards said he managed to serve justice in the courts by winning large cash awards for the plaintiffs, and he notes that those decisions effected important policy changes in the health care and corporate realms.

"It's a good book," said Josh Mauney, a recent East Carolina University graduate and a Mount Pleasant resident who showed up wearing a blue suit and tie to have his book signed.

Mauney said he grew up in Raleigh and met Edwards during his run for the Senate. Mauney has been following Edwards' campaign via the Internet, he said, and finished reading the book Friday night.

Also in line for the book signing was Kay Medlin of Wadmalaw Island, who bought two copies, one for her daughter and son-in-law and one for herself.

Medlin said she likes what Edwards has to say, but isn't so sure that anyone can beat President Bush.

"I think he'll be president someday," Medlin said of Edwards.

Among Edwards' supporters who attended the event wearing his campaign buttons were state Sen. Robert Ford and Charleston County Councilman Leon Stavrinakis. About 40 people attended a dinner held Friday night at the Charleston Place Hotel in appreciation for members of Edwards' campaign team in the Lowcountry, Stavrinakis said.

But Edwards stayed in a local home rather than at a hotel because of the NAACP's economic and tourism boycott in South Carolina for its prominent display of the confederate flag on the Statehouse grounds.

Edwards planned to stop in Kingstree after the book signing for a town hall meeting at Brown's Bar-B-Q, then head to Columbia to file at the state Democratic Party headquarters for the Feb. 3 primary election.

Edwards' book retails for $24, and his campaign Web site offers a free book with a $35 campaign contribution. No one who attended the signing made a formal campaign contribution, but several offered business cards as a way to establish a connection with the senator.

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