Biography of william j lederer books made

Biography of william j lederer books made: All the Ships at

William Julius Lederer, Jr. March 31, — December 5, was an American author and naval officer. After dropping out of high school, Lederer enlisted in the United States Navy in He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in After the entry of the United States into World War II in December , he was a line officer first in Asia and then in the European Theater , serving as a ship's navigation officer in the Allied invasion of Sicily.

He spent the later years of his naval service as a public information officer , and in that capacity eventually was posted to The Pentagon and later as special assistant to Commander-in-Chief, Pacific , Admiral Felix Stump at Pearl Harbor , Territory of Hawaii. Lederer's best-selling work, 's The Ugly American , was one of two novels he co-wrote with Eugene Burdick , a former U.

Navy lieutenant commander and Oxford don. Disillusioned with the United States 's diplomatic efforts in Southeast Asia , Lederer and Burdick sought to demonstrate that American officials and civilians could make a substantial difference in Southeast Asian politics if they were willing to learn local languages, follow local customs, and use regional military tactics.

They were concerned that if American policy makers continued to ignore the logic behind these lessons, Southeast Asia would fall under Soviet or Chinese Communist influence. In the book's epilogue, they argue for the creation of "a small force of well-trained, well-chosen, hard-working and dedicated professionals" fluent in the local language, which presaged the Peace Corps , which John F.

Kennedy proposed in