Ambrose Bierce
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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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Illustrated with beautiful chapter headings that match the book cover!
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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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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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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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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The poems in this 1892 collection by the author of The Devil's Dictionary often deal with topical events and personalities-while some display his dark wit, others are light and amusing. "The order in which the beetles are shown," as the author puts it, includes "The Key Note," "Cain," "An Obituarian," "A Commuted Sentence," "A Lifted Finger," "Two Statesmen," and many more.
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Today, Ambrose Bierce is best remembered for his blazingly satirical take on politics and society in general, which was probably best encapsulated in The Devil's Dictionary. However, Bierce paid his literary dues as a war reporter, and battlefield conflicts were a frequent topic of his fiction. A Son of the Gods and A Horseman in the Sky brings together a pair of exquisitely observed short tales of the American Civil War. As part of our mission to...
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The moral stories are at their best told by Ambrose Bierce in his book Cobwebs from an Empty Skull. The book is divided into three sections: "Fables of Zambri, the Parsee," an assortment of over 100 fables; "Brief Seasons of Intellectual Dissipation," discussions between a fool and a philosopher, a doctor and a soldier, respectively; and "Divers Tales," 28 different stories of an eclectic nature, including The Grateful Bear, Dr. Deadwood, I Presume,...
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This collection of short and chilling ghost stories was originally published in 1913 and is loosely organized into four categories: The Ways of Ghosts, including "An Arrest," in which a murderer is escorted back to jail by the prison guard he murdered to escape; Soldier Folk including "A Man with Two Lives," in which a man dead and buried returns to claim his belongings, Some Haunted Houses, including "The Other Lodgers," in which a man checks into...
17) Fantastic fables
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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...