author
Ira L. (Ira Louis) Reeves
1872–1939
A soldier-scholar who turned experience into practical writing, he wrote about marksmanship, military training, and life in the Philippines with the eye of someone who had lived it. His books blend firsthand knowledge with a clear, instructional style that still feels direct today.
1 Audiobook
Bamboo Tales
by Ira L. (Ira Louis) Reeves
About the author
Born in Missouri in 1872, Ira Louis Reeves built a career that joined military service and writing. Archival and library records describe him as a U.S. Army officer and an author of military-themed books and articles, with works including A Manual for Aspirants for Commissions in the United States Army, The A B C of Rifle, Revolver and Pistol Shooting, Military Education in the United States, and Bamboo Tales.
Biographical records indicate that he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1893 and left active service in 1902 after being wounded during the Philippine Insurrection. That background helps explain the practical tone of his books: some are straightforward guides for soldiers and marksmen, while others draw on his time in the Philippines and on his broader interest in military education.
Reeves died in 1939, but his work remains visible through major library and archive collections. For audiobook listeners, he offers a mix of firsthand military perspective, early twentieth-century instruction, and historical storytelling from an era of major change in the American armed forces.