William Manchester

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William Raymond Manchester (April 1, 1922 – June 1, 2004) was an American author and biographer, notable as the bestselling author of 18 books that have been translated into 20 languages. Manchester grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts. His father served in the United States Marine Corps during World War I. After his father's death, and the attack on Pearl Harbor, William Manchester likewise enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. However, he was ordered back to college until called up. Although he had expected to serve in Europe, Manchester ultimately found himself in the Pacific Ocean theater. After rising to the rank of Sergeant, he served in Pacific War's final campaign on Okinawa, and was severely wounded. Manchester's wartime experiences formed the basis for his very personal account of the Pacific Theater, Goodbye, Darkness: A Memoir of the Pacific War. In this memoir, Manchester uses some personal anecdotes from his service on Okinawa in his descriptions of battles on Guadalcanal and Saipan; he states this in the notes following his memoir as well as clearly denying any attempt at a chronological account, though without this additional reading at the end of his memoir, to honor those he loved, many would mistakenly believe that Manchester also served in these campaigns. He wrote of World War II in several other books, including his second of a planned three-part biography of Winston Churchill, and a biography of General Douglas MacArthur, American Caesar. Manchester work

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