William lederer
William Lederer (born March 31, 1912) was an American author, US Naval
Academy graduate in 1936, and Cold warrior. His first appointment was as the
junior officer of a river gunboat on the Yangtze River.
His best selling work, 1958's The Ugly American, was one of several novels
co-written with Eugene Burdick. Disillusioned with the style and substance of
America's diplomatic efforts in Southeast Asia, Lederer and Burdick openly
sought to demonstrate their belief 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 employ regional military
tactics. However, if American policy makers continued to ignore the logic behind
these lessons, Southeast Asia would fall under Soviet or Chinese Communist
influence.
Selected Bibliography
Collaborations
- The Ugly American, 1958 (co-author, with Eugene Burdick)
- The Deceptive American, (co-author, with Eugene Burdick)
- Sarkhan: a novel (co-author, with Eugene Burdick)
- The 480, 1965 (co-author, with Eugene Burdick)
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