DEVILS LAKE (AP) - Lake Region State College men's basketball coach Mark Graupe was determined to get Bill Clinton to sign a copy of his book, even if it meant waiting all night.

Some might call him crazy, but Graupe, 44, said he's a fan of presidential memorabilia. He had a free airline ticket, and Clinton was due to sign his book "Giving," in Chicago on Sept. 7. So Graupe hopped on a plane.

He arrived in the Windy City about 10:30 p.m., the night before, and made his way downtown to the Borders bookstore where Clinton was to appear for his book signing.

"I arrived at the bookstore at 12:50 a.m. and was there by myself until 2:10 a.m.," Graupe said. Some people walked by and offered him food, thinking he might be homeless.

One woman showed at 2:10 a.m., looking to be first in line for the book signing. Graupe said she later told reporters she had to get in line behind "Mr. North Dakota."

A third person showed up about 4 a.m. The line got longer, and after the store opened, those who were waiting sat on the carpet for about four hours, Graupe said.

Since he was the first in line, he drew the media attention and found himself being interviewed. "They kept calling me 'North Dakota,"' he said. "The media kept yelling, 'North Dakota, North Dakota.'

"They asked me why I got there so early and why I sat there so long," Graupe said. "I told them who I was and where I was from and that being a basketball coach, September was probably the best time for me to come and see the former president, and Chicago was the closest opportunity."

Graupe said officials in charge began distributing wristbands at 8 a.m. to the first 1,000 people and let them into the store, where they spread people out over three floors. An estimated 600 people were turned away.

Clinton arrived around noon.

"He's got such charisma," Graupe said. "It's like a rock star when he walks in. He draws such a reaction from people.

"He shook my hand twice. When he first walked in, I was standing there and he mentioned, 'Oh, first in line,' and shook my hand then," Graupe said.

He told Clinton he had come all the way from North Dakota, he said. Later, Clinton shook his hand a second time during the book signing and thanked him for coming, he said.

The book signing was tightly restricted, Graupe said. He wanted the former president to sign a baseball, but it was not allowed.

But now Graupe has copies of his media interviews to show, along with the book, and he can say he got two handshakes from a former president.

"I would do it all over again," he said.