William Lederer

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William Julius Lederer Jr. (born March 31, 1912 in New York City , † December 5, 2009 in Baltimore ) was an American writer.

Life

Lederer completed his training as a naval officer at the United States Naval Academy in 1936 and was then employed as an officer on a river gunboat on the Yangtze River . Lederer left the military with the rank of captain (naval) . This emerges from his book Our Own Worst Enemy (1968) , in which he also describes his time as Adjutant to the Commander in Chief of the United States Pacific Fleet . Lederer died on December 5, 2009, at the age of 97, of respiratory failure .

plant

His best-selling work, The Ugly American (1958) , was one of several novels he co- authored with Eugene Burdick . Disappointed with the style and content of US diplomatic action in Southeast Asia, Lederer and Burdick endeavored to make their conviction public that American officials and expatriates could influence Southeast Asian politics much more effectively if they were willing to speak the languages ​​of the Learning about locals to follow local customs and employ the tactics of the local military. However, if American decision-makers continued to ignore the logic behind these recommendations, Southeast Asia would fall under the control of the Soviet or Chinese communists .

In A Nation of Sheep (1961) , Lederer pointed to deficits in the US intelligence services in Southeast Asia.

Other of his books, such as the early work Ensign O'Toole and Me (1957) , were designed as entertaining and humorous fiction. A children's book, Timothy's Song , with illustrations by Edward Ardizzone , was published in 1965.

In Our Own Worst Enemy (1968) Lederer also describes how in 1940 as a young lieutenant junior grade in China while waiting for a Japanese bombing attack he met the Jesuit priest Pierre Cogny and his Vietnamese assistant “Mr. Nguyen ”. At Cogny's request, Lederer got a copy of the United States Declaration of Independence from his gunboat. This handed "Mr. Nguyen “later from Tống Văn Sơ, later known as Hồ Chí Minh . The declaration of independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, which he wrote in 1945, begins with a quote from the American document.

Works

Together with Eugene Burdick

  • The Ugly American , 1958 (German translation 1959: The Ugly American )
  • The Deceptive American
  • Sarkhan: a novel
  • The 480 , 1965

Selected Works

  • All the Ships at Sea , 1950
  • The Last Cruise. The Story of the Sinking of the Submarine USS Cochino , 1950
  • Ensign O'Toole And Me , 1957
  • A Nation of Sheep , 1961
  • McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force , 1965 (writer, co-writer)
  • Timothy's Song , 1965
  • The Story of Pink Jade , 1966
  • Our Own Worst Enemy , 1968
  • The Anguished American , 1968
  • Complete Cross-Country Skiing and Ski Touring , 1977
  • Marital Choices: Forecasting, Assessing, and Improving a Relationship , 1981
  • A Happy Book of Happy Stories , 1981
  • New Complete Book of Cross Country Skiing , 1983
  • I, Giorghos , 1984
  • Creating a Good Relationship , 1984
  • The Mirages of Marriage , 1990 (co-author)

Individual evidence

  1. ^ WW Norton & Company, Inc, 1968, p. 54
  2. ^ Wikipedia: Proclamation of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam , accessed December 19, 2012
personal data
SURNAME Lederer, William
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Lederer, William Julius junior (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American writer
DATE OF BIRTH March 31, 1912
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH December 5, 2009
Place of death Baltimore