William Julius Lederer, Jr. (March 31, 1912 – December 5, 2009) was an American author and naval officer.

Biography

U.S. Navy service

After dropping out of high school, Lederer enlisted in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

in 1930. He graduated from the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

in 1936. His first appointment was as the junior officer aboard , a

river gunboat A river gunboat is a type of gunboat adapted for river operations. River gunboats required shallow draft for river navigation. They would be armed with relatively small caliber cannons, or a mix of cannons and machine guns. If they carried mor ...

of the

Yangtze Patrol The Yangtze Patrol, also known as the Yangtze River Patrol Force, Yangtze River Patrol, YangPat and ComYangPat, was a prolonged naval operation from 1854–1949 to protect American interests in the Yangtze River's treaty ports. The Yangtze P ...

on the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. After the entry of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

into

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in December 1941, he was a

line officer In the United States Armed Forces, a line officer or officer of the line is a U.S. Navy or U.S. Marine Corps commissioned officer or warrant officer who exercises general command authority and is eligible for operational command positions, as ...

first in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

and then in the

European Theater The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main theatres of combat during World War II. It saw heavy fighting across Europe for almost six years, starting with Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 and ending with the ...

, serving as a ship's navigation officer in the 1943

Allied invasion of Sicily The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers ( Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). It bega ...

. He spent the later years of his naval service as a

public information officer A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman, is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others. Duties and function In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have receiv ...

, and in that capacity eventually was posted to

The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...

and later as special assistant to Commander-in-Chief, Pacific,

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Felix Stump Felix Budwell Stump (December 15, 1894 – June 13, 1972) was an admiral in the United States Navy and Commander, United States Pacific Fleet from July 10, 1953 until July 31, 1958. Early life and career Stump was born in Parkersburg, West Virgini ...

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

Territory of Hawaii The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory ( Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 30, 1900, until August 21, 1959, when most of its territory, excluding ...

. He rose to the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Writing career

Lederer's best-selling work, 1958's ''

The Ugly American ''The Ugly American'' is a 1958 political novel by Eugene Burdick and William Lederer that depicts the failures of the U.S. diplomatic corps in Southeast Asia. The book caused a sensation in diplomatic circles and had major political implic ...

'', was one of two novels he co-wrote with

Eugene Burdick Eugene Leonard Burdick (December 12, 1918 – July 26, 1965) was an American political scientist, novelist, and non-fiction writer, co-author of ''The Ugly American'' (1958), ''Fail-Safe'' (1962), and author of ''The 480'' (1965). Early life He ...

, a former U.S. Navy

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

and

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

don. Disillusioned with the

's diplomatic efforts in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

, 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 The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

Chinese Communist The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...

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 The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F. ...

, which

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

proposed in 1960. In ''A Nation of Sheep'' (1961), Lederer identifies intelligence failures in

. In "Government by Misinformation," he investigates the sources that he believes lead to American foreign policy, namely trusted local officials; local (foreign) newspapers, magazines, books, radio broadcasts, etc.; paid local informers; personal observations by U.S. officials; and American journalists. In ''Our Own Worst Enemy'' (1968), Lederer relates that as a young U.S. Navy

lieutenant (junior grade) Lieutenant junior grade is a junior commissioned officer rank used in a number of navies. United States Lieutenant (junior grade), commonly abbreviated as LTJG or, historically, Lt. (j.g.) (as well as variants of both abbreviations), is ...

in 1940, he had a chance meeting with a

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

priest, Father Pierre Cogny, and his Vietnamese assistant, "Mr. Nguyen," while he was waiting out a Japanese bombing raid in China. Father Pierre asked Lederer if he had a copy of the

United States Declaration of Independence The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Pennsylvania State House ...

on his

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

, and Lederer said that he did and provided them with a copy. "Mr. Nguyen" was eager to deliver the document to "Tong Van So," who later became known as

Ho Chi Minh (: ; born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), commonly known as ('Uncle Hồ'), also known as ('President Hồ'), (' Old father of the people') and by other aliases, was a Vietnamese revolutionary and statesman. He served as Prime ...

, the Vietnamese Communist revolutionary and statesman. The 1945

Proclamation of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam The Proclamation of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Tuyên ngôn độc lập Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa) was written by Hồ Chí Minh, and announced in public at the Ba Đình flower garden (now the Ba Đình ...

, written by Ho, begins by quoting from the American document. Ho went on to serve as prime minister (1946–1955) and president (1945–1969) of the

Democratic Republic of Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...

(i.e., North Vietnam). ''Our Own Worst Enemy'' describes how the United States supported a corrupt President Ngo Diem in

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

, ignored massive black market selling of stolen U.S. military supplies, food, and foreign aid, and refused to stand up to corrupt local officials who stole donated food and supplies, took kickbacks, and bullied their own population, as Americans continued saying, "It's their country, and we Americans are only guests here." Other Lederer works were intended to be light-hearted and humorous fantasies. His early works, ''All the Ships at Sea'' (1950) and ''

Ensign O'Toole and Me An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be differ ...

'' (1957) are both. A children's book, ''Timothy's Song'', with illustrations by

Edward Ardizzone Edward Jeffrey Irving Ardizzone, (16 October 1900 – 8 November 1979), who sometimes signed his work "DIZ", was an English painter, print-maker and war artist, and the author and illustrator of books, many of them for children. For ''Tim All ...

, appeared in 1965.

Television and film

The

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

Ensign O'Toole ''Ensign O'Toole'' is an American situation comedy that stars Dean Jones in the title role as an officer aboard the United States Navy destroyer USS ''Appleby'' in the early 1960s. It aired from 1962 to 1963. Synopsis Ensign O'Toole is a junior ...

'', a

situation comedy A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

which starred Dean Jones and aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

from 1962 to 1963, was based on ''All the Ships at Sea'' and ''Ensign O'Toole and Me'' and depicted the misadventures of the crew of the fictional U.S. Navy destroyer USS ''Appleby'' in the early 1960s. Lederer served as technical consultant for the series.McNeil, Alex, ''Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present, Fourth Edition'', New York: Penguin Books, 1996, , p. 258.Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946–present (Sixth Edition)'', New York: Ballantine Books, 1995, , p. 316. He also co-wrote the

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...

of the 1965 feature film ''

McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force ''McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force'' is a 1965 film based upon the television 1962–1966 sitcom ''McHale's Navy''. Series supporting players Joe Flynn and Tim Conway are the leads for this sequel to the first film made in 1964, also named ...

''.

Death

Lederer died of

respiratory failure Respiratory failure results from inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, meaning that the arterial oxygen, carbon dioxide, or both cannot be kept at normal levels. A drop in the oxygen carried in the blood is known as hypoxemia; a rise ...

on December 5, 2009, at the age of 97.

Eugene Burdick collaborations

* ''

'', 1958 (co-author, with Eugene Burdick) * ''Sarkhan: a Novel'', republished under the title ''The Deceptive American'' in 1977.

Selected works

* ''All the Ships at Sea'', 1950 (author) * ''The Last Cruise; the story of the sinking of the submarine, '', 1950 (author) * ''Spare-Time Article Writing for Money'' (1954) * ''

'', 1957 (author) * ''A Nation of Sheep'', 1961 (author) * ''

'', 1965 (co-screenwriter) * ''Timothy's Song'', 1965 (author) * ''The Story of Pink Jade'', 1966 (author) * ''Our Own Worst Enemy'', 1968 (author) * ''The Anguished American, 1968 (author) * ''The Mirages of Marriage'', 1968 (co-author with

Don D. Jackson __NOTOC__ Donald deAvila Jackson, M.D. (2 January 1920 – 29 January 1968) was an American psychiatrist best known for his pioneering work in family therapy. From 1947 to 1951, he studied under Harry Stack Sullivan. From 1953 to 1962, he worke ...

) * ''Complete Cross-Country Skiing and Ski Touring'', 1970 (co-author with

Joseph Peter Wilson Joseph Peter "Joe Pete" Wilson (May 22, 1935 – September 13, 2019) was an American Olympic cross-country skier, who skied for the U.S. in cross-country at the 1960 Winter Olympics and later became a well-known skiing administrator in the Unite ...

) * ''Marital Choices: Forecasting, Assessing, and Improving a Relationship'', 1981 (author) * ''A Happy Book of Happy Stories'', 1981 (author) * ''New Complete Book of Cross Country Skiing'', 1983 (author) * '' I, Giorghos'', 1984 (author) * ''Creating a Good Relationship'', 1984 (author)

References

External links

''New York Times'' Obituary

Answers.com
(Author's works)
Government by Misinformation
(Review of ''Nation of Sheep'')

(1961) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lederer, William 1912 births 2009 deaths 20th-century American novelists American male novelists United States Navy personnel of World War II American science fiction writers Futurologists Writers from Baltimore United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy captains Writers from New York City 20th-century American male writers Novelists from New York (state) Novelists from Maryland