Autobiographies and Memoirs – Biographies P, Q, R

Google Speaks: Secrets of the World’s Greatest Billionaire Entrepreneurs, Sergey Brin and Larry Page

Lowe, Janet

John Wiley & Sons 2009

Larry Page, co-founder of Google with Sergey Brin, was born and raised in East Lansing, MI. His father was a computer science professor at MSU and his mother was an instructor in computer programming there. Larry Page was interested in computer science from a very early age, and was also a musician. He graduated from East Lansing High School in 1991 and then earned his B.S. at University of Michigan before going on to attend graduate school at Stanford. As of 2018, Page is the chief executive officer of Alphabet Inc. (Google’s parent company), and has an estimated personal net worth of around $50 billion.

Page, Lawrence Edward (1973 – )

Roads of Adventure

Paine, Ralph Delahaye

Houghton 1922 Dewey Dec. Biography

“The spirited story of the author’s adventures as an undergraduate on the Yale crew, war correspondent in Cuba, Haiti, and China during the Boxer uprising, in perils of water, in the gold camps of the West, and finally as dispenser of publicity for the American navy in European waters during the war.”
— A.L.A. Catalog 1926.

Paine, Ralph Delahaye (1871-1925)

The Life of Thomas Paine, Vol 1

Volume 2

with a History of his Literary, Political and Religious Career in America, France and England; to which is added a sketch of Paine by William Cobbett

Conway, Moncure D.

Putnam’s Sons 1892 Dewey Dec. Biography

Paine, Thomas (1737-1809)

Thomas Paine

Sedgwick, Ellery

Small 1899 Dewey Dec. Biography

“A sketch which tells the story of this great advocate for liberty, without bias or argument. Full chronology.”
— A.L.A. Catalog 1926

Paine, Thomas (1737-1809)

A Life of Francis Parkman

Farnham, Charles Haight

Little 1901 Dewey Dec. Biography

“Portrays the unusual and inspiring personality of the great historian. Bibliography of his works.”
— A.L.A. Catalog 1926

Parkman, Francis (1823-1893)

Pasteur and His Work

Descour, L.

Stokes 1922 Dewey Dec. Biography

“Combines a biographical study with a careful, non-technical account of his experiments and achievements. The biographical material is based largely on the admirable work by Vallery-Radot, son-in-law of Pasteur.”
— A.L.A. Catalog 1926

Pasteur, Louis (1822-1895)

The Life of St. Patrick, and His Place in History

Bury, John Bagnell

Macmillan 1905 Dewey Dec. Biography

“A scholarly, historical biography, based on source material extant in 1905.”
— A.L.A. Catalog 1926

Patrick, Saint (373?-463?)

History of St Vincent de Paul, Founder of the Congregation of the Mission (Vincentians) and of the Sisters of Charity

Bougaud, Monseigneur

Longmans 1908 Dewey Dec. Biography

Father De Paul dedicated himself to organizing service to the poor. His colorful life included capture by Barbary pirates followed by enslavement in Tunis and Istanbul.

St. Vincent de Paul (1581-1660)

Skywriting: A Life Out of the Blue

Pauley, Jane

Ballantine 2005

“In this beautiful and surprising memoir, Jane Pauley tells the remarkable story of her extraordinary life, from her childhood in the American heartland to her three decades in television and her experience with depression and bipolar disorder. Encompassing her beginnings at a local Indianapolis station, her bright network debut—at age twenty-five on NBC’s Today—and her years at Dateline, Pauley delves into the ups and downs of a wonderful career. She addresses with humor and depth a subject very close to her heart: discovering yourself and redefining your strengths at midlife. Striking, moving, candid, and unique, Skywriting explores firsthand the difficulty and the rewards of self-reinvention.” -Book cover.

Pauley, Margaret Jane (1950- )

The True William Penn

Fisher, Sydney George

Lippincott 1900 Dewey Dec. Biography

“The author considers that “the real Penn, though of a very religious turn of mind, was essentially a man of action, restless and enterprising, at times a courtier and a politician, who loved handsome dress and lived well and lavishly. His life was full of contests, imprisonments, disasters, and suffering, and he lived during the most critical periods of English history.”
— A.L.A. Catalog 1926

Penn, William (1644-1718)

Nights; Rome, Venice in the Aesthetic Eighties; London, Paris in the Fighting Nineties

Pennell, Elizabeth Robins

Lippincott 1915 Dewey Dec. Biography

Entertaining reminiscences of artistic and intellectual circles illustrated by etchings by Joseph Pennell and others.
— A.L.A. Catalog 1912-1921.

Pennell, Elizabeth Robins (1855-1936)

Diary; With Selections from His Correspondence, and an Introduction to Each Volume. Vol 1

Volume 2 Volume 3 Volume 4 Volume 5

Pepys, Samuel

Cassell Dewey Dec. Biography

“The most valuable work extant for an understanding of the court and times of Charles II. The events, characters, follies, vices, and peculiarities of the age are presented in true and lively colors. Its perennial appeal will remain in its revelation of the character of the author—a capable public man, a lover of society, a man of the world, a snob, a child, and lovable withal. Spirited, yet quaintly naive, it is one of the most diverting books in the world. Begun in 1660, it continues for about nine years.”
— A.L.A. Catalog 1926.

Pepys, Samuel (1633-1703)

Hero of Erie (Oliver Hazard Perry) (Young Heroes of Our Navy)

Barnes, James

Appleton 1898 Dewey Dec. Biography

“A clear, well told narrative which will interest adult readers as well as the young people for whom it was originally written.”
— A.L.A. Catalog 1926

Perry, Oliver Hazard (1785-1819)

Peter the Great, Emperor of Russia, Vol 1

Volume 2

Schuyler, Eugene

Scribner 1890 Dewey Dec. Biography

“A detailed and scholarly historical biography based on original documents in the archives of various countries, on Russian state papers, on the memoirs and accounts of Peter’s contemporaries, and on the works of historians.”
— A.L.A. Catalog 1926

Peter I, the Great, Emperor of Russia (1672-1725)

Petrarch, The First Modern Scholar and Man of Letters

Robinson, J. H and Rolfe, H. W.

Putnam 1914 Dewey Dec. Biography

“A selection from his correspondence with Boccaccio and other friends. Designed to illustrate the beginnings of the Renaissance. An excellent work for the student, “it views Petrarch not as a poet, nor even, primarily, as a many-sided man of genius, but as the mirror of his age—a mirror in which are reflected all the momentous contrasts between waning Medievalism and the dawning Renaissance.””
— A.L.A. Catalog 1926

Petrarca, Francesco (1304-1374)

William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, and the Growth and Division of the British Empire, 1708-1778 (Heroes of Nations)

Green, Walford Davis

Putnam 1901 Dewey Dec. Biography

Good compendious biography of the public career of Chatham, from manuscript and other sources.
— A.L.A. Catalog 1904

Pitt, William, 1st Earl of Chatham (1708-1778)

Pizarro: His Adventures and Conquests (Young folks’ Heroes of History)

Towle, George Makepeace

Lee 1879 Dewey Dec. Biography

DDC: Bio Y Dewey Dec. Biography

Picturesque narrative of exploits of the Spanish hero of the 16th century.
— A.L.A. Catalog 1904

Pizarro, Francisco (1476?-1541)

The Dreamer; a Romantic Rendering of the Life-story of Edgar Allan Poe

Stanard, Mary Newton

Bell 1909 Dewey Dec. Biography

“A sympathetic and romantic biography of Poe.”
— A.L.A. Catalog 1926

Poe, Edgar Allan (1809-1849)

Edgar Allan Poe; How to Know Him

Smith, Charles Alphonso

Bobbs-Merrill 1921 Dewey Dec. Biography

Appreciative criticisms of Poe’s work, accompanied by excerpts which form the bulk of the book. An introduction for the unacquainted reader.
— A.L.A. Catalog 1912-1921
“The first two chapters—The world-author, and The man – are devoted to a summary of his life and an appreciation of his character. The other four chapters, each with a critical introduction, give selections from his works in his various literary genus. They are: The critic; The poet: The writer of short stories; The frontiersman.”
“A detailed and informative discussion. The work of Poe as a critic is emphasized somewhat more than his better-known work as a creative artist.”
“The ‘real Poe’ with which he presents us is, to be frank, a very hazy figure, lost in the clouds of uncritical eulogy.”
– The Book Review Digest

Poe, Edgar Allan (1809-1849)

Pontiac: Ottawa Rebel

Bland, Celia

New York: 1995

Pontiac or Obwandiyag was an Odawa war chief known for his role in the war named for him, from 1763 to 1766 leading Native Americans in a struggle against British military occupation of the Great Lakes region. It followed the British victory in the French and Indian War, the North American front of the Seven Years’ War. Pontiac’s importance in the war that bears his name has been debated. The war began in May 1763 when Pontiac and 300 followers attempted to take Fort Detroit by surprise. His plan foiled, Pontiac laid siege to the fort, where he was eventually joined by more than 900 warriors from a half-dozen tribes.

Pontiac, Odawa Indian Chief (d. 1769)

Cole Porter: A Biography

McBrien, William

Knopf 1998

“The most richly told biography we have had of one of the most important and beguiling composer/lyricists of the century – the incomparable Cole Porter, whose songs were the essence of wit and sophistication and whose life was marked by tragedy, courage, sorrow, and secrecy.” – Book jacket

Porter, Cole Albert (1891-1964)

American Empress: The Life and Times of Marjorie Merriweather Post

Rubin, Nancy

Villard 1995

Post was an American socialite, heiress, philanthropist, and owner of General Foods, and for many years was considered the wealthiest woman in the U.S. She spent much of her youth near Battle Creek, MI, where her father founded the Post Cereal Co.

Post, Marjorie Merriweather (1887-1973)

Reminiscences of Peace and War

Pryor, Sara Agnes (Rice)

Macmillan 1924 Dewey Dec. Biography

“A Virginia woman’s entertaining social and political reminiscences of Washington and the South from 1852 to 1866.”
— A.L.A. Catalog 1926.

Pryor, Sara Agnes (Rice) (1830-1912)

My Reminiscences, Vol 1

Volume 2 – Autobiography Or Memoir

Pumpelly, Raphael

Holt 1918 Dewey Dec. Biography

“The detailed autobiography of this noted geologist and mining expert whose work took him into odd corners of the globe and brought adventures with all sorts and conditions of men.”
— A.L.A. Catalog 1926.

Pumpelly, Raphael (1837-1923)

The Story of Ernie Pyle

Miller, Lee G.

Viking 1950

“Ernie Pyle was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist. As a roving correspondent for the Scripps-Howard newspaper chain, he earned wide acclaim for his accounts of ordinary people in rural America, and later, of ordinary American soldiers during World War II. His syndicated column ran in more than 300 newspapers nationwide. . . He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1944 for his spare, poignant accounts of “dogface” infantry soldiers from a first-person perspective. “No man in this war has so well told the story of the American fighting man as American fighting men wanted it told”, wrote Harry Truman”. -Wikipedia

Pyle, Ernest “Ernie” Taylor (1900-1945)

Ralegh; His Exploits and Voyages (Young Folks’ Heroes of History)

Towle, George Makepeace

Lee 1882 Dewey Dec. Biography

DDC: Bio Y Dewey Dec. Biography

His young manhood in the brilliant court of Elizabeth, his courage on the battlefield, and the energy with which he pushed his attempts at discovery and colonization, clearly brought out.
— A.L.A. Catalog 1904

Raleigh, Sir Walter (1554-1618)

John Randolph (American Statesmen series)

Adams, Henry

Houghton, Mifflin 1898 Dewey Dec. Biography

Randolph, John (1773-1833)

An American in the Making

Ravage, Marcus Eli

Harper 1917 Dewey Dec. Biography

“The story of a young Rumanian who began as a peddler and finally succeeded in putting himself through college, with humorously critical sidelights on America to those “who know only America.””
— A.L.A. Catalog 1926.

Ravage, Marcus Eli (1884-1965)

Ronald Reagan

Walsh, Kenneth T.

Park Lane 1997

“At a time when America’s confidence was at an all-time low, Ronald Reagan made his grand entrance into the nation’s political spotlight and was called upon to instill the undying optimism he was so loved for. Political correspondenet Kenneth T. Walsh examines the roots of the man who went from small-town middle America to Hollywood and the White House, and tells us how Ronald Reagan developed his unflagging belief in the American dream.” – Book cover

Reagan, Ronald Wilson (1911-2004)

The Life of John Redmond

Wells, Warre B.

Doran 1919 Dewey Dec. Biography

The history of the struggle for home rule in Ireland as well as the biography of a fine though tragic life. Redmond is shown as a mediator between Ireland and England.
— A.L.A. Catalog 1912-1921
“The contents are: The leader and the man; Ancestry and youth: Early political life; The mantle of Parnell; Towards Home rule; The Home rule hill; Redmond and Sinn Fein; Redmond and Ulster; The war and Redmond’s choice; A clouded ending.”
“The author’s detachment, if it mars the hook on its human side, has its value when he deals with political issues. Lucidity and balance are virtues which Mr Wells possesses in a higher degree than the majority of those who discuss Irish controversies. and his sense of perspective is rarely at fault. His analysis of the various phases of the Home rule struggle is a model of fairness and accuracy.”
– The Book Review Digest

Redmond, John Edward (1856-1918)

A Single Strand; or, A Year at Mount Holyoke Seminary

Reed, Anna Stevens

Presbyterian Board of Publication 1887 Dewey Dec. Biography

A memoir written in the style of a novel, from the author’s experience in the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary.

Reed, Anna Stevens (? – ?)

Rehnquist: A Personal Portrait of the Distinguished Chief Justice of the U.S.

Obermayer, Herman J.

Threshold 2009

“The impact of Chief Justice William Rehnquist – who served as a Supreme Court justice for a third of a century and headed the federal judiciary under four presidents – cannot be overstated… Despite his importance as a public figure, however, Rehnquist scrupulously preserved his private life. .. Now, however, journalist Herman J. Obermayer has broken that silence in a memoir of their nineteen-year friendship that is both factually detailed and intensely moving, his own personal tribute to his dearest friend.” – Book jacket

Rehnquist, William H. (1924-2005)

The Life of Whitelaw Reid, Vol 1

Volume 2

Cortissoz, Royal

Scribner 1921 Dewey Dec. Biography

“The career of one of America’s distinguished diplomats and journalists, valuable as biography, as history, as a study in the development of American journalism, and in connection with other biographies — John Hay, Henry Adams and Joseph Choate.”
— A.L.A. Catalog 1926
“Perhaps no man can be named who had a more complete ‘inside’ knowledge of Republican party politics in the United States from Lincoln to Roosevelt. He had a stirring career as editor and (after Greeley’s death) proprietor of the New York Tribune, at that time the leading Republican paper of the country. Later he served as Ambassador to France, and during the administrations of Roosevelt and Taft was Ambassador to Great Britain. The correspondence on which the author has freely drawn in preparing these volumes covers a period of more than fifty years.”
“He has, in fact, written the political history of a period, with Reid as its central figure—a record painstaking and exact, showing the man in his setting.”
– The Book Review Digest

Reid, Whitelaw (1837-1912)

Judith Resnik: Challenger Astronaut

Bernstein, Joanne E. and Blue, Rose

Lodestar 1990

“History was made in 1978, when NASA accepted scientist Judith Resnik to be part of America’s space exploration program. One of only a few women in the program, Dr. Resnik went on to become the first Jewish person in space. And when the mission of the space shuttle Challenger ended in disaster on January 28, 1986, it claimed the life of this vigorous pioneer.” – Book jacket

Resnik, Judith (1949-1986)

The Most Dangerous Man in Detroit: Walter Reuther and the Fate of American Labor

Lichtenstein, Nelson

Basic 1995

“A marvelously researched, most complete history … It is a very readable work that anyone with any interest in Walter Reuther, the UAW or the labor movement would enjoy reading.” – Douglas Fraser, UAW President 1977-83

Reuther, Walter Philip(1907-1970)

Cecil Rhodes (Makers of the Nineteenth Century)

Williams, Basil

Holt 1921 Dewey Dec. Biography

“A true portrayal of a lovable, forceful character against an interesting background of South African diamond fields. Valuable to the student of colonial history and enjoyable to the general reader.”
— A.L.A. Catalog 1926
“The author, writing from acquaintance not only with Rhodes himself, but with almost all the personalities who figure in the biography, gives a contemporary portrait of the man and a connected narrative of his work. While to some extent the book is an apology for Rhodes, Mr Williams does not defend all his acts.”
“The plans and achievements of the empire builder are narrated fully and vividly so that the volume is not only the biography of a great imperial figure but a chronicle of South African history during well-nigh a quarter of a century.”
– The Book Review Digest

Rhodes, Cecil John (1853-1902)

Village Life in America. 1852-1872; Including the Period of the American Civil War as Told in the Diary of a School-girl

Richards, Caroline Cowles

Fisher 1912 Dewey Dec. Biography

“An entertaining and refreshingly original diary of a school girl in Canandaigua, N. Y. Homely details of life in a cultured household, distinguished by piety and devotion to Puritan ideals, are told with a quaint, often unconscious humor, and with sure literary instinct.”
— A.L.A. Catalog 1926.

Richards, Caroline Cowles (1842-1913)

Richelieu and the Growth of French Power (Heroes of the Nations)

Perkins, James Breck

Putnam 1900 Dewey Dec. Biography

“A most readable biography of the famous cardinal which is based on original source material.”
— A.L.A. Catalog 1926

Richelieu, Armand Jean du Plessis, Cardinal (1585-1642)

Eddie Rickenbacker

Adamson, Hans Christian

NY: Macmillan 1946 Dewey Dec. Biography

Rickenbacker, Eddie (1890-1973)

The Story of Louis Riel, the Rebel Chief

Collins, Joseph Edmund

Toronto: Rose 1885 Dewey Dec. Biography

Riel, Louis (1844-1885)

The Making of an American

Riis, Jacob August

Macmillan 1924 Dewey Dec. Biography

“The autobiography of a Danish boy who became one of America’s well-known philanthropists and reformers, and the author of a number of books on social conditions in New York.”
— A.L.A. Catalog 1926.

Riis, Jacob August (1849-1914)

The Other Half: The Life of Jacob Riis and the World of Immigrant America

Buk-Swienty, Tom

Norton 2008 Dewey Dec. 000

Drawing on previously unexamined diaries and letters, The Other Half marvelously re-creates the moving story of Jacob Riis, the legendary Progressive reformer and muckraking photographer. Born in 1849 in rural Denmark, Riis immigrated to America in 1870 following a devastating romantic breakup. Penniless and starving, Riis stumbled into journalism, eventually becoming a charismatic police reporter for the New York Tribune, where he befriended Theodore Roosevelt and witnessed firsthand the appalling tenement conditions of late nineteenth-century New York. His resulting exposé, How the Other Half Lives, was the first major American muckraking book. It brought Americans in touch with their lost humanity, establishing a precedent for Ida Tarbell, Lincoln Steffens, Jane Addams, and Upton Sinclair. Described by Roosevelt as “the ideal American,” Riis died in 1914, mourned by millions, a celebrated hero. Tom Buk-Swienty’s long-awaited biography, a superb evocation of the muckraking era, is a compelling work, designed with 55 haunting images from Riis’s own photographic oeuvre.

Riis, Jacob August (1849-1914)

Life story of the Ringling Brothers … – Free Memoirs And Autobiographies

Humorous Incidents, Thrilling Trials, Many Hardships, and Ups and Downs, Telling how the Boys built a Circus, and showing the True Road to Success

Ringling, Alfred

Chicago: Donnelley & Sons 1900

This appears to be sort of an ‘official’ biography, produced by the Ringling Brothers’ company. Five sons of German immigrants growing up in Baraboo, WI created an act in which they performed skits and juggling routines, performing at town halls around Wisconsin. In 1884 the brothers began their first circus, and by the end of the 1880s it was one of the best in the country. For many years the Ringling Brothers circus was based in Baraboo, and there is still a large circus museum there, at the site where it wintered.

Robespierre

Belloc, Hilaire

Scribner 1901 Dewey Dec. Biography

“A stirring record which strives by “unravelling Robespierre’s motives to establish his relation to the great movement with which he is sometimes erroneously identified, and to portray the dramatic value of his career.” Pictures vividly the background of the French Revolution.”
— A.L.A. Catalog 1926

Robespierre, Maximilien Marie Isidore de (1758-1794)

Happy Trails: The Story of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans

Rogers, Roy, Evans, Dale and Stowers, Carlton

Guideposts 1979

“Happy Trails is the deeply personal story of a man and woman whose off-screen lives have been every bit as exciting and interesting as those they portrayed on movies, radio and television – a couple who has supplied three generations with examples of talent, integrity, and faith. In Parts I and II, Roy and Dale remember their childhoods and early careers; with humor and candor they tell how Leonard Slye and Frances Smith came to be “King of the Cowboys” and “Queen of the West”. Then, in Part III, they chronicle their years as partners – the growth of their large and active family, their long and satisfying careers.” – Book cover.

Rogers, Roy [Leonard Franklin Slye] (1911-1998)

Romney’s Way: A Man and an Idea

Harris, T. George

Prentice Hall 1968

George Romney came to Michigan in 1939 and worked at the American Automobile Manufacturers Association. He became chief executive of American Motors Corp. in 1954, and was elected governor of Michigan in 1962. He was a popular governor and was re-elected in 1964 and 1966. In 1968 he was briefly a Republican candidate for President, but dropped out of the race early in the primaries. He was the father of Mitt Romney, U.S. Senator and Presidential candidate.

Romney, George Wilcken (1907-1995)

Theodore Roosevelt and His Time Shown in his Own Letters, Vol 1

Volume 2

Bishop, Joseph Bucklin

Scribner 1920 Dewey Dec. Biography

“The biography which was written with Roosevelt’s cooperation and for which he contributed his correspondence. The result is a combined study of personality and a history of New York state and of the United States from 1881 to 1919.”
— A.L.A. Catalog 1926
“With perfect taste and judgment Mr Bishop has stood aside and allowed the story to be told through Roosevelt’s letters. He has made an excellent book. Important, always readable and often extremely amusing.”
“A difficult task has been accomplished triumphantly, and the result is a portrait of Roosevelt by himself, set in an editorial frame which is artistically un-obstructive.”
– The Book Review Digest.

Roosevelt, Theodore, U.S. President (1858-1919)

Theodore Roosevelt; an Intimate Biography

Thayer, William Roscoe

Houghton 1919 Dewey Dec. Biography

“The well-known biographer who was a college mate and friend of Roosevelt’s for forty years adds little to the known facts of his public or private life, but brings out their significant aspects. The last chapters are devoted largely to the author’s disagreement with President Wilson, giving the book interest as the history of a campaign.”
— A.L.A. Catalog 1926
“This biography is written by an intimate and life-long friend of Mr Roosevelt’s. He says in the preface: “I count it fortunate for me that during the last ten years of his life. I was thrown more with Roosevelt than during all the earlier periods; and so I was able to observe him, to know his motives, and to study his character during the chief crises of his later career. Those of us who knew him, knew him as the most astonishing human expression of the creative spirit we had ever seen.”
– The Book Review Digest

Roosevelt, Theodore, U.S. President (1858-1919)

I’m Gonna Make You Love Me: the Story of Diana Ross

Haskins, James

Dial 1980

Traces the life of singer Diana Ross from her early years in a Detroit ghetto to Hollywood.

Ross, Diana (1944- )

The Rossettis: Dante Gabriel and Christina

Cary, Elisabeth Lather

Putnam 1900 Dewey Dec. Biography

“Pictures the family life, friendships, labors and achievements of one of the famous Pre-Raphaelites. It also describes some of his paintings and discusses his poetry. Two chapters are devoted to Christina Rossetti and her poetry. Contains chronological lists of the more important writings, and of the paintings and drawings of Rossetti, also a list of Christina’s poems.”
— A.L.A. Catalog 1926

Rossetti, Dante Gabriel (1828-1882)

Rossetti, Christina Georgina (1830-1894)

Confessions (4 volumes)

Rousseau, Jean Jacques

Gibbings 1901 Dewey Dec. Biography

“One of the most wonderful autobiographies in literature, and all told, probably Rousseau’s most valuable permanent contribution to pure literature. A frank and detailed record which reveals the mind and heart of the great French philosopher.”
— A.L.A. Catalog 1926.

Rousseau, Jean Jacques (1712-1778)

John Ruskin (English Men of Letters)

Harrison, Frederic

Macmillan 1902 Dewey Dec. Biography

“A friend for many years, the author shows Ruskin’s predominance in the esthetic study of nature and art as an influence rather than as an authority.”
— A.L.A. Catalog 1926

Ruskin, John (1819-1900)