8 h 24 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What does duty ask of ordinary men when their country prepares for war?
In At Plattsburg, Allen French turns to civilian volunteers learning to become officers in the years around the First World War. Plattsburg, in New York State, is the setting for citizen training camps. Men leave homes and offices behind to face drill, discipline, and the demands of command.
The change reaches beyond a new routine. These men have work and families, and service asks them to weigh private ties against public duty. French explores how shared effort changes a person, how strangers learn to work together, and what a country owes the citizens it calls upon.
What you’ll discover
- Citizens learning to serve Meet ordinary volunteers facing the distance between civilian life and military responsibility.
- The demands of discipline Follow the shift into early rising, marching, drill, and taking orders from others.
- Duty close to home Consider what service asks men to give up in their work and family lives.
- Character through shared effort Explore how training challenges vanity and puts men to work beside strangers.
- A nation preparing for war Encounter the questions of citizenship and command that shape this early twentieth-century novel.
Who will love it
Readers who like stories built from letters, the texture of daily army life before the First World War, and steadily growing friendships among very different men, with a love story waiting underneath.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Eight strangers share Tent Eight
- Lucy learns to shave and wash
- Drill, rifles and the captain emerge
- Vera appears and Dick keeps watch
- The rifle range tests every man
- David proves himself in the ring
- Marching out for the hike
- Mud, trenches and the squad's bond
- How the letters shape the book
Who’s who
- Richard GodwinA calm, observant businessman who writes daily to his mother and slowly becomes the squad's steady center while still tangled up with his former fiancee.
- David FarnhamA wealthy, sheltered young Harvard graduate nicknamed Lucy, who must learn to shave, wash and shoot for himself and win the respect of his tentmates.
- KnudsenA tough Swedish-American foundry owner from Buffalo who quietly guides David and keeps his own skill and kindness half hidden.
- Erasmus CorderA forty-five-year-old Harvard professor who fears age will send him home and keeps up through wit and stubbornness.
- Samuel PickleA hardware clerk from Pennsylvania with a sweet tooth and a sharp tongue, who ends up fiercely loyal to David.
- Captain KirbyThe company's Southern captain, a West Pointer and rifle expert, stern and sarcastic in drill, who wants his men to be real soldiers.
- Vera WadsworthDick's proud, independent former fiancee, an opponent of war who is staying at the army post and attracting two officers.
- Lieutenant PendletonThe cool, dashing West Pointer who drills the company and courts Vera with practiced charm.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 8 h 24 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear At Plattsburg in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
At Plattsburg
by Allen French · 1917
Eight strangers share one tent at a 1916 training camp, and a pampered boy named Lucy must learn to shave.
Medium level5–10 hours to read25 languages
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
At Plattsburg is a novel told through letters, written by Allen French and set in September and October 1916. A civilian training camp at Plattsburg, New York, prepares ordinary men for war, and the book follows one month there.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Eight strangers share Tent Eight
The book opens with Richard Godwin on a train to Plattsburg, writing to his mother. He is a modest man in an ill-fitting uniform, and a pacifist pastor has just told him he is a militarist. Dick answers that he wants no war, but believes the country is unprepared. He admits he was a pacifist himself only a year ago. He also admits he is run down after ending his engagement to Vera, though the two parted as friends.
On the same train, David Ridgway Farnham the Third writes to his own mother. He is a rich young Harvard graduate who cannot find a single man of his own kind among the recruits. He is going only because his father and his cousin Walter made him promise.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about At Plattsburg
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is At Plattsburg about?
It follows one month at a 1916 civilian training camp in New York, told mostly through letters from a businessman named Dick Godwin. He and his squad learn drill, shooting and field skills, and a love story runs alongside.
Who are the main characters in At Plattsburg?
Dick Godwin writes most of the letters. His tentmates include David Farnham, Knudsen, Corder, Pickle, Clay and Reardon. Captain Kirby commands the company, and Vera Wadsworth is the woman he meets near the camp.
Is At Plattsburg based on a true story?
It is a novel, but it is built on the real Plattsburg training camps of 1916, where civilians trained for a month. The author drew on that experience, and the dedication to his own squad suggests he took part.
The author
Allen French
1870–1946 · American historian and author
Allen French (1870–1946) was an American historian and author. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and later lived in Concord, Massachusetts. He wrote histories of the American Revolution and books for younger readers. His works include The Siege of Boston (1911) and At Plattsburg (1917). He died in Concord.
More like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
