author
O. O. (Olin Oglesby) Ellis
1886–1968
Best known for practical military handbooks written around the World War I era, this Texas-born writer helped turn complex training and travel information into clear, usable books. His surviving works still read like direct guides from a very specific moment in early 20th-century American life.
1 Audiobook
The Plattsburg Manual: A Handbook for Military Training
by O. O. (Olin Oglesby) Ellis, E. B. (Enoch Barton) Garey
About the author
O. O. Ellis, short for Olin Oglesby Ellis, was born in Uvalde, Texas, in 1886 and died in 1968. Records I could confirm show that he later lived in places including Salt Lake City and Maryland, and that he married Ruth Reid in 1916.
Ellis is remembered chiefly as a writer of practical nonfiction. He co-authored The Plattsburg Manual: A Handbook for Military Training with E. B. Garey, a book published in 1917 that was aimed at military instruction during the preparedness period surrounding World War I. He was also one of the authors of American Guide Book to France and Its Battlefields, a 1920 guide that combined travel help with battlefield history.
What stands out about his work is its usefulness. Rather than writing literary fiction or memoir, Ellis helped produce straightforward manuals for readers who needed clear instruction, whether they were preparing for service or trying to understand the landscapes of the recent war.