William Karl Thomas was born 1/25/33 in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, a small Gulf Coast town in which Tennessee Williams lived and wrote about in his works. In 1951 Thomas married his former high school teacher and was divorced after a four year childless marriage. His checkered background includes being a cocktail pianist in New Orleans French Quarter, serving a year of combat in the Air Force during the Korean War, being a photographer, a journalist, a feature/documentary cinematographer, a screen writer, an industrial film producer, a public relations executive, and a book author. He has worked for and with such notables as Frank Sinatra, the Rat Pack, Lenny Bruce, and others.. In the course of various assignments, Thomas has lived or worked in Oxford England, Paris France, Japan, Korea, Jamaica, Mexico, Canada, and various parts of the United States. The Manchester Guardian has stated, "He superbly evokes the seedy atmosphere of the cheap Hollywood clubs and coffeehouses," and "His work sometimes reads like a Bogart script." Kirkus refers to, "His historically astute depiction of the country and era" and "(He) aptly conveys the heights and depths of human capability," and refers to "The Josan and the Jee" as "An emotionally challenging but rewarding war novel." Readers reviews say "One of the best books I have ever read; maybe the best," and "This story will make you sad and happy at the same time. It is difficult to put the book down."