While in his mid teens Roger Craft Peace became a newspaper writer, and that pursuit gave him the most satisfaction. His professional life soon centered more on newspaper management than writing, however, as he became the driving force behind the Greenville, South Carolina, newspapers that he had talked his father into buying. He used words precisely and took offense when others used them more loosely. He took pride in the work of others and was credited with molding the careers of many young writers and editors.

When he was twenty-one, Peace was named editor of the Greenville News; he became the paper's business manager when he was twenty-five. He ran the newspaper company after his father became ill in 1930, and he was officially named president and publisher of the Greenville News-Piedmont Company when his father died in 1934. He held those positions until his death in 1968, at which time...