Messner Biographies
-
- This is a long,
partial list of Julian Messner Publishing Company history books and biographies
for young people.
-
- Excepting sports
heroes and popular culture idols, I am working on making this list complete
for 1940-1975. After 1975 I include only the more important historical figures
who were not covered in older books.
If you have a Messner
biography that you think should be added to this page, please E-Mail
me
If you'd like a more
complete list for your own use, try a Guided Keyword Search at the Library
of Congress. Enter "Messner" as "Publication Information"
(drop-down list) and "juvenile biography" (searching "all of
these") in "Keyword Anywhere."
Messner Biographies
are important first, because they include historical figures not addressed by
other popular out-of-print series' and second, because they contracted with
some excellent children's authors! Enid LaMonte Meadowcroft, Jeannette Covert
Nolan, Gladys Malvern and others on this list wrote well-researched, engaging
living books. Books by many of these authors are worth finding whether they
were published by Messner or some other house!
These biographies
generally are labelled "Messner" at the base of the spine or on the
title page. Some were chosen as Junior Literary Guild book club selections and
will read "A Guild Book" at the base of the spine. Others were published
as a part of Archway Books, a Messner series.
The date in brackets
is the earliest published date I could find. Some of these dates are second
copyright dates, first printings may be 12-17 years earlier! If anyone has any
of these books and can add to my list--or give me first edition dates-- please
E-Mail me!
HISTORY STORIES:
- Abe Lincoln's
Other Mother, The Story of Sarah B. Lincoln by Bernadine Bailey [1941]
- Abraham Lincoln
by Jeannette Covert Nolan [1953]
- Admiral Byrd of
Antarctica by Michael Gladych [1960]
African Firebrand, Kenyatta of Kenya by Jules Archer[1969]
Albert Einstein by Pamela Zanin Bradbury [1988]
- Alice Fitzgerald,
Nurse Around the World by Iris Noble [1964]
- Amelia Earhart
, Heroine of the Skies by Shannon Garst [1947]
- America's First
Trained Nurse, Linda Richards, Born July 27, 1841, Died April 16, 1930 by
Rachel Baker [1959]
- America's First
Woman Astronomer, Maria Mitchell by Rachel Baker and Joanna Baker Merlen [1960]
America's First Woman Chemist, Ellen Richards by Esther M. Douty [1961]
- Andrew Jackson
by Jeannette Covert Nolan [1949]
Angel of Appalachia, Martha Berry by Elisabeth P. Myers [1968]
- Angel of Mercy,
The Story of Dorothea Lynde Dix by Rachel Baker [1955]
Angry Abolitionist, The Story of William Lloyd Garrison by Jules Archer [1969]
- Annie Oakley by
Shannon Garst [1958]
- Behind the Silken
Curtain, The Story of Townsend Harris by I. E. Levine [1961]
- Belle Boyd, Secret
Agent by Jeannette Covert Nolan [1967]
- Benedict Arnold,
Traitor to His Country by Jeannette Covert Nolan [1956]
- Big Foot Wallace
of the Texas Rangers by Shannon Garst [1951]
Black Patriot and Martyr, Toussaint of Haiti by Ann Griffiths [1970]
- Black Women of
Valor by Olive W. Burt [1974]
"Blood and Guts," The True Story of General George S. Patton by
John Devaney [1982]
- Booker T. Washington;
Educator of Hand, Head, and Heart by Shirley Graham [du Bois][1955]
- Brigham Young
by Olive Burt [1956]
- Broken Hand Fitzpatrick,
Greatest of Mountain Men by Shannon Garst [1961]
Brotherhood of Pirates by Judith Schoder [1979]
- Buffalo Bill by
Shannon Garst [1948]
- Cameras and Courage,
Margaret Bourke-White by Iris Noble [1973]
- Chaim Weizmann,
Builder of a Nation by Rachel Baker [1950]
Champion of Liberty, Henry Knox by Justin F. Denzel [1969]
- Champion of World
Peace, Dag Hammarskjold by I. E. Levine [1962]
- Charlemagne by
Manuel Komroff [1964]
- Chief Joseph of
the Nez Perces by Shannon Garst [1953]
Civil War Nurse, Mary Ann Bickerdyke by Adele de Leeuw [1973]
- Clarence Darrow
Defense Attorney by Iris Noble [1958]
- Cochise, Great
Apache Chief by Enid Johnson
Colossus of Europe, Metternich by Jules Archer [1970]
- Conquerer of Small
Pox, Dr. Edward Jenner by I. E. Levine [1960]
Contemporary Woman Scientists of America by Iris Noble [1979]
- Courage in Her
Hands [SUBJECT UNKNOWN] by Iris Noble [1967]
- The Courage of
Doctor Lister by Iris Noble [1960]
- Cowboy Artist,
Charles M. Russell by Shannon Garst [1960]
- Curtain Going
Up, The Story of Katharine Cornell by Gladys Malvern [1943]
- Custer, Fighter
of the Plains by Shannon Garst [1944]
- Dancing Star,
The Story of Anna Pavlova by Gladys Malvern [1942]
- Desert Fighter,
Story of Yigael Yadin & the Dead Sea Scrolls by Shane Miller
- Dick Wootton,
Trailblazer of Raton Pass by Shannon Garst [1956]
- Disaster 1906,
The San Francisco Earthquake and Fire by Edward F. Dolan, Jr.
- The Discoverer
of Insulin, Dr. Frederick G. Banting (The) by I. E. Levine [1959]
The Discoverer of Oxygen, Joseph Priestly by William D. Crane [1962]
The Discoverer of X-Ray, Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen by Arnulf K. Esterer [1968]
- Disraeli by Manuel
Komroff [1963]
- Dr. George Washington
Carver, Scientist by Shirley Graham and George D. Lipscomb [1944]
- Dr. Morton, Pioneer
in the Use of Ether by Rachel Baker [1946]
- The Doctor who
Dared, Sir William Osler by Iris Noble [1959]
- Dolley Madison
by Jeannette Covert Nolan [1967]
- Douglas MacArthur,
Front-line General by Jules Archer
- Edith Cavell,
Heroic Nurse by Juliette Elkon
- Edna St. Vincent
Millay, America's Best Loved Poet by Toby Shafter
- Egypt's Queen
Cleopatra by Iris Noble [1963]
- Electrical Genius,
Nikola Tesla by Arthur J. Beckhard
- Electronics Pioneer,
Lee DeForest by I. E. Levine [1964]
- Emmeline & Her Daughters: The Pankhurst Suffragettes by Iris Noble [1971]
- Empress of all
Russia, Catherine the Great by Iris Noble [1966]
- Ernest Thompson
Seton , Naturalist by Shannon Garst with Warren Garst
Explorer with a Dream, John Ledyard by S. G. Mantel [1969]
Famous Young Rebels by Jules Archer [1973]
Fearless Adventurer, Sir Richard Burton by Arthur Orrmont [1969]
Fidel Castro of Cuba by Judith Bentley [1991]
- Fighter for Independence,
Jawaharlal Nehru by Alfred Apsler
- Fighting Journalist:
Horace Greeley by Jules Archer
- The First Woman
Ambulance Surgeon, Emily Barringer by Iris Noble [1962]
- The First Woman
Doctor, The Story of Elizabeth Blackwell, M.D. by Rachel Baker [1944]
- The First Woman
Editor, Sarah J. Hale by Olive Burt [1960]
- Florence Nightingale/The
Story of Florence Nightingale by Jeannette Covert Nolan [1946]
Fossil Feud, The Rivalry of America's First Dinosaur Hunters by Thom Holmes
[1998]
- Francis Marion,
Swamp Fox of the Revolution by Beryl Williams and Samuel Epstein [1967]
- Franklin D. Roosevelt,
Man of Destiny by David E. Weingast
- Frederick Law
Olmstead, Park Designer by Iris Noble [1974]
Freedom Fighter, Casimir Pulaski by David J. Abodaher [1969]
From Spinning Wheel to Spacecraft, The Story of the Industrial Revolution
by Henry Edward Neal [1964]
Frontier Nurse, Mary Breckenridge by Katharine E. Wilkie and Elizabeth R.
Mosely [1969]
Frontier Scientist, Clarence King by Bob and Jan Young [1968]
- The Gay Poet,
the Story of Eugene Field by Jeannette Covert Nolan [1940]
- Gene Rhodes, Cowboy
by B. F. Day
Genius with a Scalpel, Harvey Cushing by Justin F. Denzel [1971]
- George Patton,
General in Spurs by Alden Hatch
- George Rogers
Clark, Soldier & Hero by Jeannette Covert Nolan [1954]
- Ghost Towns of
the West by Olive W. Burt [1976]
- Glenn Curtiss,
Pioneer of Naval Aviation by Alden Hatch
- Goethals and the
Panama Canal by Howard Fast
- Great Houdini
, Magician Extraordinary by Beryl Williams and Samuel Epstein [1950]
- Great Lady of
the Theatre, Sarah Bernhardt by Iris Noble [1960]
Hafiz al-Asad of Syria by Charles Patterson [1991]
- Harry S. Truman,
the Man from Independence by Karin Clafford Farley
Haym Salomon, Son of Liberty by Howard Fast
He Freed the Minds of Men, Rene Descartes by Edwin P. Hoyt [1969]
- He Heard America
Sing, The Story of Stephen Foster by Claire Lee Purdy
- Henry Ford by
Cy Caldwell
Heroes of Texas by Edward Allen [1970]
- The Honor of Balboa
by Iris Noble [1970]
- Hoosier City,
The Story of Indianapolis by Jeannette Covert Nolan[1943] (Cities of America)
In Search of Peace, The Story of Four Americans Who Won the Nobel Peace Prize,
Roberta Strauss Feuerlicht [1970]
- The Indestructible
Commodore Matthew Perry by Arthur Orrmont
Indian Chiefs of the West by Felix Sutton [1970]
- Interpol, International
Crime Fighter by Iris Noble [1975]
- Inventive Wizard,
George Westinghouse by I. E. Levine [1962]
- Isaac Newton by
Harry Sootin
- Israel's Golda
Meir, Pioneer to Prime Minister by Iris Noble [1974]
Ivan the Terrible by Alfred Apsler [1971]
- Jack London, Magnet
for Adventure by Shannon Garst [1944]
- James Bowie and
His Famous Knife by Shannon Garst [1955]
- James Whitcomb
Riley, Hoosier Poet by Jeannette Covert Nolan [1941]
The Jimmy Carter Story by Margaret Poynter [1978]
- Joe Magarac and
His U. S. A. Citizen Papers by Irwin Shapiro [1948]
- Joe Meek, Man
of the West by Shannon Garst [1954]
Joel Chandler Harris [Uncle Remus stories], Plantation Story Teller by Alvin
F. Harlow [1941]
- John Brown by
Jeannette Covert Nolan [1950]
- John Baptiste
Pointe de Sable: Founder of Chicago by Shirley Graham
- John Charles Fremont,
Trail Marker of the Old West [1955]
- John Henry and
the Double-Jointed Steam Drill by Irwin Shapiro [1948]
- John Muir, Father
of Our National Parks by Charles Norman
Joseph Brant, Chief of Six Nations by Clifford Lindsey Alderman [1958]
- Joseph Pulitzer,
Front Page Pioneer by Iris Noble [1957]
Julian Messner's Young Reader's Guide to Dates and Events by David Herman
[1986]
- Julius Caesar
by Manuel Komroff [1955]
Julius K. Nyerere, Teacher of Africa by Shirley Graham [du Bois] [1975]
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor by Judith Bentley [1991]
Kisses of Death, A World War II Escape Story by Margaret Baldwin [1983] (short,
64 pp.)
- Kit Carson, Trailblazer
and Scout by Shannon Garst [1942]
- Labor's Advocate,
Eugene V. Debs by Iris Noble [1966]
- The Land Divided,
The World United: The Story of the Panama Canal by Paul Rink
- LaSalle and the
Grand Enterprise by Jeannette Covert Nolan [1951]
Last Wilderness, The Saga of America's Mountain Men by Noel B. Gerson [1966]
- Lenin, The Man
Who Made A Revolution by I. E. Levine [1969]
- Lillian Wald,
Angel of Henry Street by Beryl Epstein [1948]
- The Little Giant,
The Story of Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln by Jeannette Covert Nolan
[1943]
- Louis Braille,
Windows for the Blind by J. Alvin Kugelmass
- Louis Pasteur
by L. N. Wood
- Luther Burbank,
Plant Magician by John Y. Beaty
Madame Secretary, Frances Perkins by Elisabeth P. Meyers [1972]
Mahatma Gandhi by Doris Faber [1986]
- Mahmud's Story,
the Journal of a Palestinian Refugee by Iris Noble [1976]
- Man of Steel,
Joseph Stalin by Jules Archer
Man with a Microscope: Elie Metchnikoff by Elaine Mardus
The Man Who Dropped from the Sky by Kevin Shyne [1982]
Martin Luther King, Jr. by Doris Faber [1986]
The Man Who Transformed the World, James Watt by William D. Crane [1963]
The Man Who Wouldn't Give Up, Henry Clay by Katharine E. Wilkie [1961]
- The Many Faces
of Slavery by I. E. Levine [1975]
- The Many Worlds
of Herbert Hoover by James P. Terzian
- Marco Polo by
Manuel Komroff [1952]
- Marie Antoinette
by Manuel Komroff and Odette Komroff [1967]
- Master Detective,
Allan Pinkerton by Arthur Orrmont
- Master Surgeon,
John Hunter by Iris Noble [1971]
- Medicine from
Microbes, The Story of Antibiotics by Beryl Williams and Samuel Epstein [1965]
- Mendeleyev & his Periodic Table by Robin McKown
- Miracle Man of
Printing, Ottmar Mergenthaler by I. E. Levine [1963]
- Napoleon by Manuel
Komroff [1954]
- Nazi Hunter, Simon
Wiesenthal [1979]
- Negroes in the
Early West by Olive W. Burt [1969]
- Nellie Bly, First
Woman Reporter by Iris Noble [1956]
- Noah Webster,
Father of the Dictionary by Isabel Proudfit
- Nurse Around the
World, Alice Fitzgerald by Iris Noble
- O. Henry, The
Story of William Sydney Porter by Jeannette Covert Nolan [1943]
Old Rough and Ready, Zachary Taylor by Bob and Jan Young [1970]
- Oliver Cromwell
by I. E. Levine [1966]
Osceola and the Seminole Wars by Clifford Lindsey Alderman [1973]
"Patriot Doctor: The Story of Benjamin Rush", by Esther Douty.
Patriotic Rebel, John C. Calhoun by William D. Crane [1971]
- Paul Robeson,
Citizen of the World by Shirley Graham
Peter the Great by Joan Joseph [1968]
- Physician to the
Children, Dr. Bela Schick by Iris Noble [1963]
- Physician to the
World, Esther Pohl Lovejoy by Olive W. Burt [1973]
- Pioneer Oceanographer,
Alexander Agassiz by Beryl Williams and Samuel Epstein [1963]
- Pioneer Surgeon,
Dr. Ephraim McDowell by Josephine Rich
- Plant Explorer,
David Fairchild by Beryl Williams and Samuel Epstein [1963]
The President from Missouri, Harry S. Truman by Ralph G. Martin [1973]
The Presidents in American History [...brought forward since 1948], Charles
A. Beard [1948 and several subsequent dates, incl. 1989]
Printer's Devil to Publisher, Adolph Ochs by Doris Faber
Prophet of Revolution, Karl Marx by Alfred Apsler [1967]
- Queen of Publisher's
Row, Mrs. Frank Leslie by Madeleine B. Stern
Radical of the Revolution, Samuel Adams by Margaret Green [1971]
- Ralph Bunche,
Fighter for Peace by J. Kugelmass
Rebel on Two Continents, Thomas Meagher by David J. Abodaher [1970]
Red Rebel, Tito of Yugoslavia by Jules Archer
Reluctant Warrior, Ulysses S. Grant by Bob and Jan Young [1971]
Richard Nixon, A Political Life by Richard M. Pious [1991]
- Rivals in Parliament:
William Pitt and Charles Fox by Iris Noble [1970]
- Roald Amundsen,
A Saga of the Polar Seas by J. Alvin Kugelmass
- Robert E. Lee
by Guy Emery
Rock of Freedom, The Story of Plymouth Colony by Noel B. Gerson [1964]
- The Rocket Pioneers
on the Road to Space by Beryl Williams and Samuel Epstein [1955]
Ronald Reagan by George Sullivan [1985]
- Roy Rogers, King
of the Cowboys by Frank Rasky
- Rudyard Kipling,
Son of Empire by Nella Braddy
- Sam Houston, Lone
Star Leader by Curtis Bishop
- Scotty Allen,
King of the Dog Team Drivers by Shannon Garst
Seven Faces West by Bob and Jan Young [1971]
Shapers of Africa by Florence T. Polatnick and Alberta L. Saletan [1969]
- The Shot Heard
Round the World, the Story of Lexington and Concord by Jeannette Covert Nolan
[1963]
- Sigmund Freud
by Rachel Baker [1952]
- Sitting Bull,
Champion of His People by Shannon Garst [1946]
Sojourner Truth: Slave, Abolitionist, Fighter for Women's Rights by Aletha
Jane Lindstrom [1980]
Soldier of the Andes, Jose de San Martin by Paul Rink [1971]
- Soldier, Statesman
and Defendant, Aaron Burr by Jeannette Covert Nolan
- Song of the North,
The Story of Edvard Grieg by Claire Lee Purdy
South America's Yankee Genius, Henry Meiggs by Elisabeth P. Myers [1969]
- Spain's Golden
Queen Isabella by Iris Noble [1969]
- Spokesman for
the Free World, Adlai E. Stevenson by I. E. Levine [1967]
- Spy for the Confederacy,
Rose O'Neal Greenhow by Jeannette Covert Nolan [1960]
- Stormy Victory,
The Story of Tchaikovsky by Claire Lee Purdy
Strikes, Bombs, and Bullets, Big Bill Haywood and the IWW by Jules Archer
[1972]
Susan B. Anthony by Iris Noble [1975]
- Talleyrand by
Manuel Komroff [1965]
- The Story of Clara
Barton of the Red Cross/Clara Barton of the Red Cross by Jeannette Covert
Nolan [1941]
- The Story of Phyllis
Wheatley by Graham, Shirley
- The Sun King,
Louis XIV of France by Alfred Apsler
- Susan B. Anthony
by Iris Noble [1975]
- Tecumseh, Destiny's
Warrior by David C. Cooke
- Thaddeus Lowe,
America's One-Man Air Corps by Mary Hoehling
- Thomas Jefferson
by Manuel Komroff [1961]
- Three Conquistadors:
Cortes, Coronado, Pizarro by Shannon Garst [1947]
- The Treasure Hunter,
The Story of Robert Louis Stevenson by Isabel Proudfit
To Ride the Wind, A Biography of Glenn L. Martin by Henry Still
Triumph of Discover, Women Scientists Who Won the Nobel Prize by Joan Dash
[1991]
Trotsky, World Revolutionary by Jules Archer [1973]
Tutankhamun and the Mysteries of Ancient Egypt by Ron Knapp [1979]
- Twentieth Century
Caesar, Benito Mussolini by Jules Archer
- Valiant Minstrel,
The Story of Sir Harry Lauder [1943]
- The Valiant Virginian,
Stonewall Jackson by Felix Sutton
Vive de Gaulle, The Story of Charles de Gaulle by Alfred Apsler [1973]
- Walt Whitman,
Builder for America by Babette Deutsch
- Walter Reed, Doctor
in Uniform by L. N. Wood
Wanted: Frank and Jesse James, The Real Story by Margaret Baldwin [1981]
Warrior on Two Continents, Thaddeus Kosciuszko by David J. Abodaher [1968]
- Wild Bill Hickok
by Shannon Garst with Warren Garst [1952]
- Will Rogers, Immortal
Cowboy by Shannon Garst [1950]
Willa Cather by Ann T. Keene [1994]
- William Bent and
His Adobe Empire by Shannon Garst [1957]
- William Crawford
Gorgas, Tropic Fever Fighter by Beryl Williams and Samuel Epstein [1961]
- William Shakespeare
by Iris Noble [1961]
- Winged Moccasins,
The Story of Sacajawea by Frances Joyce Farnsworth
Women Who Ruled, Cleopatra to Elizabeth II by Robert A. Liston [1978]
World Citizen, Woodrow Wilson by Jules Archer [1967]
- Yankee Spy, Elizabeth
Van Lew by Jeannette Covert Nolan [1970]
- Yankee Thunder,
The Legendary Life of Davy Crockett by Irwin Shapiro [1944]
Young Ike by Alden Hatch
- Young Man in the
White House, John Fitzgerald Kennedy by I. E. Levine [1964]
Your Most Humble Servant [the story of Benjamin Banneker] by Shirley Graham
Zambia's President, Kenneth Kaunda by Florence T. Polatnick and Alberta L.
Saletan [1972]
During searching
for this list, I also found these Messner historical fiction titles that sound
good:
Ann Lawrence of Old
New York by Gladys Malvern [1947]
Born to Teach by Olive Burt
Heroes in American Folklore (Casey Jones, Old Stormalong, et al.) by Irwin Shapiro
Jonica's Island by Gladys Malvern [1945]
Petticoats West by Olive W. Burt [1963]
Treason at the Point (Aaron Burr) by Jeannette Covert Nolan
The Victory Drum (George Rogers Clark) by Jeannette Covert Nolan
Your Kind Indulgence, A Romance of the Theatre in Old New York by Gladys Malvern
[1948]
I don't know if this
one is fiction or biography:
Frontier Hero: Simon
Kenton by Shannon Garst
