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William Wister Haines
William Wister Haines (1908–1989) was an American author born in Des Moines, Iowa. To support himself while attending the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, H...view moreWilliam Wister Haines (1908–1989) was an American author born in Des Moines, Iowa. To support himself while attending the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, Haines worked on the construction of the network of electric transmission towers being installed countrywide. At the age of 24, he used this experience as a lineman in writing his first novel, Slim, which became a national best seller in 1934. Warner Brothers made the book into a film starring Henry Fonda and Pat O’Brien.
Haines served in World War II as an intelligence officer with the US Eighth Air Force in Britain, principally evaluating the strength of the German Air Force and planning bombing raids. He later worked with the team that first cracked German war codes, a project called “Ultra.”
Following the war, Haines began working on Command Decision, initially as a play. His publisher, Little Brown, suggested he use the theme for a novel. The book quickly rose to become a national best seller and is regarded as the first major story told about World War II. In October 1947, the play version of Command opened on Broadway at the Fulton Theater and ran for 409 performances.
MGM bought the movie rights, acting at the behest of Clark Gable, who saw the story as a vehicle reflecting his personal experiences as an Air Force officer. He played the hero, General Casey Dennis, who must make life-and-death decisions on bombing runs while plagued by political interference pressuring him to attack less dangerous targets.
Haines’s 1961 novel, The Winter War, won the Golden Spur award from the Western Writers of America. He also worked on several films, including Torpedo Run, On Wings of Eagles and Beyond Glory. He died in 1989 at the age of eighty-one.view less