NEW YORK (AP) _ William Lee Miller, an author, ethicist and journalist, has died. He was 86.

Publisher Alfred A. Knopf announced Tuesday that Miller died in Manhattan on Saturday after a long illness.

Miller’s final book, “Two Americans: Truman, Eisenhower and a Dangerous World,” came out last month. His other books included “The First Liberty” and “Arguing About Slavery.” He wrote for several newspapers and magazines, worked on speeches for Democratic presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson and ghost wrote a book for Sen. Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota.

A native of Bloomington, Ind., and a graduate of the Yale Divinity School, Miller taught at Yale, Smith and other colleges and served three terms as an alderman in New Haven, Conn. He is survived by his wife, Linda Moore Miller, four children and two stepchildren.