Ambrose Bierce

Ambrose Bierce (1842--1914?) was an American writer, journalist and satirist. He served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. His short stories are reckoned among the best of the 19th c. He wrote of the terrible things he had seen in the war in such stories as "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" and "Chickamauga". He also wrote horror and ghost stories. His "fables" anticipated the ironic style of grotesquerie that turned into a genre in the 20th century. Bierce was most famous for The Devil's Dictionary, originally a newspaper serialization, that offered an interesting reinterpretation of the English language in which cant and political double-talk was neatly lampooned.

Following are some example of his perceptive wit from The Devil's Dictionary:

Bore, n. A person who talks when you wish him to listen.

Marriage, n. The state or condition of a community consisting of a master, a mistress and two slaves, making in all, two.

Non-combatant, n. A dead Quaker.

His date of death is not known. He disappeared in Mexico in 1914 on his way to join [Pancho Villa]?.

External References

E-text?s of The Devil's Dictionary and other writings of Ambrose Bierce are available from Project Gutenberg.