William Adler was born on May 14, 1929 in New York. After attending Brooklyn College (1947-51), Adler served in the U.S. Army. Adler, a full-time writer/editor, has published approximately 150 books on various topics over the past forty years, but he is probably best known for his books reflecting the wit and humor of individual celebrities. In books such as The Kennedy Wit and The Churchill Wit, Adler has selected and edited a variety of quotations and humorous anecdotes that reveal a human side of famous individuals. His edited collections of letters written to famous people or organizations, such as Kids' Letters to President Carter and Letters to the Air Force on UFOs, are also quite popular. These books, while interspersed with humor, often explore more serious topics with insight, understanding, and sensitivity. Adler wrote for two popular television programs, Candid Camera and Tex and Jinx, and conceived the ideas for a series of murder mysteries written by other authors, that invited readers to participate in solving the crimes. Large cash awards were offered to the reader who could solve a series of crimes leading to the murders. The first of these popular 1980s mysteries was Who Killed the Robins Family and where, and when, and how and why did they die? Although Adler masterminded the book, Thomas Chastain actually wrote it. Later, Adler would use this same reader-participation strategy when he published Bill Adler's Chance of a Lifetime, a guidebook on how to become a successful entrepreneur. Again a cash prize was offered to the reader who entered the best new business idea after reading and following the principles presented in the book. Adler has also written and edited a number of his more serious books under the pseudonym, Jay David.