Random Reminiscences of Men and Events by John D. Rockefeller is a memoir of his activities in the oil business and philanthropy.  Written in his sixties, after Rockefeller had retired from Standard Oil, the book  was initially released in 1905 in part as a response to allegations contained in the ground-breaking History of the Standard Oil Company by Ida Tarbell, published in that same year.  In the preface he remarks on his motives:

I have been associated with the most interesting people our country has produced, especially in business—men who have helped largely to build up the commerce of the United States, and who have made known its products all over the world… If a tenth of the things that have been said are true, then these dozens of able and faithful men who have been associated with me, many of whom have passed away, must have been guilty of grave faults. For myself, I had decided to say nothing, hoping that after my death the truth would gradually come to the surface and posterity would do strict justice; but while I live and can testify to certain things, it seems fair that I should refer to some points which I hope will help to set forth several much-discussed happenings in a new light. I am convinced that they have not been fully understood.

The book is indeed random and non-linear – a mixture of stories and advice on business conduct from the man who pioneered the concepts of vertical and horizontal business integration and amassed the largest fortune in the history of the world.  It is brief, candid, reflective, and surprisingly charming.

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