The Civil War Short Stories of Ambrose Bierce by Ambrose Bierce

The Civil War Short Stories of Ambrose Bierce by Ambrose Bierce

In The Devil's Dictionary Ambrose Bierce defined "war" as "a by-product of the arts of peace." A Civil War veteran, Bierce had absolutely no illusions about "courage," "honor," and "glory" on the battlefield. These stories form one of the great antiwar statements in American literature. Included here are the classic An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, Chickamauga, The Mocking Bird, The Coup de Grâce, Parker Anderson, Philosopher, and other stories celebrated for their intensity, startling insight, and mastery of form.

"He will remain one of our greatest wits, one of our most uncompromising satirists, the perfecter of two or three new genres"—Clifton Fadiman
"Bierce's war stories are. . .arresting, often shocking accounts of the incivilities perpetrated by and on men suddenly confronting their own mortality."—Cathy N. Davidson, author of The Experimental Fictions of Ambrose Bierce
"[These] striking stories center on subject matter virtually unique in fiction: the awareness of imminent violent death. Perhaps borrowing from his experience of being gravely wounded in the Civil War, [Bierce] wrote upward of a dozen stories in which the protagonist knows he is about to die, usually by hanging or firing squad—or, in a variation, recovers consciousness after being pronounced dead."—Dennis Drabelle, Smithsonian

Bierce, Ambrose: - Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842[2] - circa 1914[3]) was an American short story writer, journalist, poet, and Civil War veteran. Bierce's book The Devil's Dictionary was named as one of The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature by the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration.[4] His story An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge has been described as one of the most famous and frequently anthologized stories in American literature;[5] and his book Tales of Soldiers and Civilians(also published as In the Midst of Life) was named by the Grolier Club as one of the 100 most influential American books printed before 1900.[6] A prolific and versatile writer, Bierce was regarded as one of the most influential journalists in the United States, [7][8] and as a pioneering writer of realist fiction.[9] For his horror writing, Michael Dirda ranked him alongside Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft.[10] His war stories influenced Stephen Crane, Ernest Hemingway, and others, [11] and he was considered an influential and feared literary critic.[12] In recent decades Bierce has gained wider respect as a fabulist and for his poetry.[13][14] In December 1913, Bierce traveled to Chihuahua, Mexico, to gain first-hand experience of the Mexican Revolution.[15] He disappeared, and was rumored to be traveling with rebel troops. He was never seen again. Bierce was born in a log cabin at Horse Cave Creek in Meigs County, Ohio, on June 24, 1842, to Marcus Aurelius Bierce (1799-1876) and Laura Sherwood Bierce.[2] He was of entirely English ancestry: all of his forebears came to North America between 1620 and 1640 as part of the Great Puritan Migration.[16] He often wrote critically of both Puritan values and people who made a fuss about genealogy.[17] He was the tenth of thirteen children, all of whom were given names by their father beginning with the letter A: in order of birth, the Bierce siblings were Abigail, Amelia, Ann, Addison, Aurelius, Augustus, Almeda, Andrew, Albert, Ambrose, Arthur, Adelia, and Aurelia.[18] His mother was a descendant of William Bradford.[19] His parents were a poor but literary couple who instilled in him a deep love for books and writing.[2] Bierce grew up in Kosciusko County, Indiana, attending high school at the county seat, Warsaw.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780803260870
ISBN 10	0803260873
Title	The Civil War Short Stories of Ambrose Bierce
Author	Ambrose Bierce
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	University of Nebraska Press
Year published	1988-01-01
Number of pages	139
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable