A majority of the William Lederer papers are six folders consisting of manuscript drafts
for Lederer's book, "All the Ships at Sea." "All the Ships at Sea" is about Lederer's naval
experiences during World War II, often told with a comedic tone. Lederer served on a
riverboat in mainland China, as well as in the Atlantic fleet, and participated in the
invasion of Sicily.
Most of the manuscript pages have editorial markings on them, and many of the chapters have
multiple copies with variations. Some of the manuscript pages are loose and are seemingly
out of order, but most are separated by chapter and held together with plastic paper clips.
Some of the chapter titles do not correspond to their final titles. The manuscript pages are
not dated, but the book is primarily concerning World War II and it was published in 1950,
meaning the manuscript pages were likely written in the late 1940s.
The collection also contains a small amount of published biographical information about
William Lederer and "The Ugly American" book, as well as the book jacket cover for "The Ugly
American."
