The First 78 Years

This is a memoir of 78 years spent in journalism and government. It describes Donald M. Wilson’s early career as a foreign correspondent for LIFE magazine, covering the Korean War and the French-Vietminh War in Indochina. Wilson then takes over the LIFE Washington Bureau until president John F. Kennedy appoints him deputy director to Edward R. Murrow at the US Information Agency. His career reaches its apex when he is appointed to Excom – the committee of 18 top officials who worked with JFK to successfully resolve the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Wilson leaves government and is made a corporate vice president at Time Inc. His story takes us through 25 turbulent years as Time Inc. tries to remain independent but fails and then on into his very active “retirement.”