Essential Bierce A Selection of the Writings of Ambrose Bierce

Cultural Writing. Fiction. A contemporary presentation of work by the great nineteenth-century satirist, journalist, and horror writer. Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) was an American satirist, critic, poet, short story writer, editor, and journalist. He eventually became the literary despot of the West Coast, so admired and feared that his review could make or break an aspiring author's career. Bierce's lucid, economic style and lack of maudlin sentiment have kept him popular while many of his once famous contemporaries have become obscure. Known best for the pithy and acerbic DEVIL'S DICTIONARY, which is excerpted in this anthology, Bierce is also regarded as one of the finest storytellers of the nineteenth century; his war and horror stories are especially compelling. Poetry and correspondence round out this selection from one of California's most curmudgeonly yet beloved authors.

Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842 - 1914?) was an American editorialist, journalist, short-story writer and satirist. Today, he is best known for his short story, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge and his satirical dictionary, The Devil's Dictionary. The sardonic view of human nature that informed his work - along with his vehemence as a critic - earned him the nickname, "Bitter Bierce." In 1913, Bierce traveled to Mexico to gain a firsthand perspective on that country's ongoing revolution. While traveling with rebel troops, the elderly writer disappeared without a trace.