William Wilson, a Harvard College student, spent his time sailing on his father's yacht with his friends, indulging in numerous adventures. In 1942, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Wilson received a reserve commission in the U.S. Coast Guard, serving on the Greenland Patrols and in the Pacific Theater of Operations.
Following the war, Wilson's first book, "Voyage to Somewhere", was published, but it received lukewarm reviews and public reaction. He then took a position as a writer at Time magazine, where he became an organizer of the publication's publisher's committee on public education.
With encouragement from Dick Simon, Wilson wrote the classic novel "Man in the Gray Flannel Suit", which became an anthem of the 1950s. His next work, "A Summer Place", although not critically acclaimed, was a national best-seller and was adapted into a successful motion picture.
After a divorce from his wife of over twenty years, Wilson married a woman fourteen years his junior and continued to write fiction based on his life experiences. Regrettably, much of his later work received less critical acclaim and attention, despite being written in a fine, direct manner.
In his autobiography, "What to Wear to the Party", Wilson was candid and humorous. His novel "Ice Brothers" is arguably the best fiction written about the Coast Guard, and one of the best examples of Twentieth Century fiction ever written.
