Ambrose Bierce

Ambrose [Gwinnett] Bierce (born 1842 in Ohio, died 1913?, presumably in Mexico). American satirist, litterateur, short story writer and journalist.

Bierce enlisted in the Union Army at the outset of the American Civil War and fought in several of its most important battles. After the war he retired from the army with the rank of brevet Major, and in 1867 moved to San Francisco, where he worked for William Randolph Hearst's newspaper, the San Francisco Examiner.

His short stories are reckoned among the best of the 19th century. He wrote of the terrible things he had seen in the war in such stories as "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" and "Chickamauga".

Bierce was reckoned as a master of "pure" English by his contemporaries, and virtually everything that came from his pen was notable for its judicious wording and economy of style. He wrote skillfully in a variety of literary genres, and in addition to his celebrated ghost and war stories he published several volumes of poetry and verse. His Fantastic Fables anticipated the ironic style of grotesquerie that turned into a genre in the 20th century. One of Bierce's most famous works is The Devil's Dictionary, originally a newspaper serialization, that offered an interesting reinterpretation of the English language in which cant and political double-talk were neatly lampooned.

Bierce's twelve-volume Collected Works were published in 1912. At the end of 1913, he disappeared during the Mexican Revolution while serving as an observer with the army of Pancho Villa. Subsequent investigations to ascertain his fate were fruitless and his disappearance remains a mystery.

Following are some examples from The Devil's Dictionary:

Accord, n. Harmony.

Accordion, n. An instrument in harmony with the sentiments of an assassin.

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.

External References

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