Ambrose Bierce
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The Devil's Dictionary (1906) is a work of satire by Ambrose Bierce. Although he is commonly remembered for his chilling short stories on the experiences of Civil War soldiers, Bierce was recognized in his day as a leading journalist and humorist who spent decades ruffling feathers and drawing laughter with his witty opinion columns, poems, and definitions. Toward the end of his career, he decided to compile these satirical definitions into a book,...
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This classic short story of a Southern plantation owner facing execution by Union soldiers is "a flawless example of American genius" (Kurt Vonnegut).
Alabama planter Peyton Farquhar was loyal to the Confederate cause. Now, as the Union Army overtakes the South, he is brought to the edge of a railroad bridge-hands tied behind his back-sentenced to hang for attempting to burn down the bridge on which he stands. As he ponders the events both large...
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Popular American writer Ambrose Bierce comes alive in the magnificent collection of short stories. Having been no stranger to the battlefield, Bierce draws upon his experience as a soldier and the stories he heard during the American Civil War in this collection. However, his tales do not happily reminisce about the good times; instead, Bierce's dry wit and love of the macabre guide his stories to much darker places. "Civil War Stories", includes...
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A collection of spine-chilling tales from a master of horror, Can Such Things Be? is brimming with supernatural occurrences, shifting perspectives, and the psychological twists and turns for which Bierce is famous. Including such offerings as "The Death of Halpin Frayser," "Moxon's Master," and "The Damned Thing," this suspenseful collection is enhanced by a hint of Bierce's life and personality.
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Misanthropes, grumps, and the hopelessly jaded will relish every ruthlessly witty word of Ambrose Bierce's essay collection A Cynic Looks at Life. Bierce unleashes his jaundiced eye and incisive insight on a number of topics that are still as resonant as they were at the time of the book's 1912 publication.
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Amusing and thought-provoking, this A-to-Z compendium outlines common oral and written gaffes. Ambrose Bierce, a celebrated literary wit, assembled his informative compilation in 1909 from many years of observations and notes. He advocates precision in language, offering alternatives to grammatical lapses and inaccurate word choices. Moneyed for Wealthy: "The moneyed men of New York." One might as sensibly say, "The cattled men of Texas," or, "The...
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This engrossing tale presents as its central theme the ultimately unknowable – and untameable – essence of nature and the natural world. Told from several different perspectives, the story focuses on a freak fatal accident that is written off as a wild animal attack. But does that description get at the truth of the matter? At least one witness is convinced otherwise. A story of the paranormal that was once loosely adapted for an episode of the...
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Two Dogs who had been fighting for a bone, without advantage to either, referred their dispute to a Sheep. The Sheep patiently heard their statements, then flung the bone into a pond. "Why did you do that?" said the Dogs. "Because," replied the Sheep, "I am a vegetarian." This and 244 other "fantastic fables" from the bitter pen of Ambrose Bierce fill this little volume to overflowing with a rich feast of Bierce's misanthropy. Bierce didn't miss a...
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American journalist and satirist Ambrose Bierce is one of the most famous and fascinating figures in all of American literature. He led an adventurous and eventful life, beginning with his birth in a log cabin, to his time as a Civil War soldier, and followed by his career as an author and journalist, to finally his mysterious disappearance during the Mexican Revolution at age 71. Bierce is perhaps best known for his short stories about the American...
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Journalist, short story writer, poet, and critic Ambrose Bierce has been called one of America's greatest wits and an uncompromising satirist. He wrote unsparingly and with haunting realism of his Civil War experiences. His finest and most famous Civil War writings are gathered in this volume of six essays and twenty stories, including "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," "What I Saw of Shiloh," and "A Horseman in the Sky." Edited and introduced by...
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This 1892 novella is translated loosely from a German folktale and masterfully retold by Bierce. Set in the Bavarian mountains, it tells the story of a young Franciscan monk who becomes obsessed and eventually tormented by his feelings for a young girl who has been socially ostracized because her father is the local hangman.
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Published in 1891, this collection of 26 bone-chilling short stories is set during the American Civil War. It is divided, as the title suggests, between tales of soldiers and tales of civilians. Many have a strong element of horror or the supernatural, such as the justly famous "The Incident at Owl Creek Bridge."
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Ambrose Bierce wrote stories so dramatically different from those of his contemporaries that they hardly seem like they were written in the nineteenth century. These original and innovative tales, most of which appeared in the 1880s and 1890s, constitute 23 examples of his best and most characteristic short fiction: anti-war satires that underscore the barbarism and futility of bloodshed; horror stories with a keenly ironic edge; and sardonic "tall...
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Brilliant and magnetic as are these two studies by Ambrose Bierce, and especially significant as coming from one who was a boy soldier in the Civil War, they merely reflect one side of his original and many-faceted genius. Poet, critic, satirist, fun-maker, incomparable writer of fables and masterly prose sketches, a seer of startling insight, a reasoner mercilessly logical, with the delicate wit and keenness of an Irving or an Addison, the dramatic...
18) Moxon's Master
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A short story that speculates on what it is to be intelligent and when artificial intelligence becomes to powerful.
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What I Saw at Shiloh by Ambrose Bierce, narrated by Mike Vendetti. The audiobook is a first-hand account of the Battle of Shiloh, one of the bloodiest battles of the American Civil War. Bierce, who was a soldier in the Union Army, was present at the battle and provides a vivid and often harrowing account of the fighting.
Vendetti's narration is excellent. He brings Bierce's words to life with his clear and expressive voice. He also does a good job...