Ambrose Bierce Popular Books

Ambrose Bierce Biography & Facts

Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842 – c. 1914) was an American short story writer, journalist, poet, and American Civil War veteran. His book The Devil's Dictionary was named one of "The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature" by the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration. His story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" has been described as "one of the most famous and frequently anthologized stories in American literature", and his book Tales of Soldiers and Civilians (also published as In the Midst of Life) was named by the Grolier Club one of the 100 most influential American books printed before 1900.A prolific and versatile writer, Bierce was regarded as one of the most influential journalists in the United States and as a pioneering writer of realist fiction. For his horror writing, Michael Dirda ranked him alongside Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft. S. T. Joshi speculates that he may well be the greatest satirist America has ever produced, and in this regard can take his place with such figures as Juvenal, Swift, and Voltaire. His war stories influenced Stephen Crane, Ernest Hemingway, and others, and he was considered an influential and feared literary critic. In recent decades, Bierce has gained wider respect as a fabulist and for his poetry.In 1913, Bierce told reporters that he was travelling to Mexico to gain first-hand experience of the Mexican Revolution. He disappeared and was never seen again. Early life 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. 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. He often wrote critically of "Puritan values" and people who "made a fuss" about genealogy. 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. His mother was a descendant of William Bradford.His parents were a poor but literary couple who instilled in him a deep love for books and writing. Bierce grew up in Kosciusko County, Indiana, attending high school at the county seat, Warsaw. He left home at 15 to become a printer's devil at a small abolitionist newspaper, the Northern Indianan. Military career Bierce briefly attended the Kentucky Military Institute until it burned down. At the start of the American Civil War, he enlisted in the Union Army's 9th Indiana Infantry. He participated in the operations in Western Virginia (1861), was present at the Battle of Philippi (the first organized land action of the war) and received newspaper attention for his daring rescue, under fire, of a gravely wounded comrade at the Battle of Rich Mountain. Bierce fought at the Battle of Shiloh (April 1862), a terrifying experience that became a source for several short stories and the memoir "What I Saw of Shiloh".In April 1863 he was commissioned a first lieutenant, and served on the staff of General William Babcock Hazen as a topographical engineer, making maps of likely battlefields. As a staff officer, Bierce became known to leading generals such as George H. Thomas and Oliver O. Howard, both of whom supported his application for admission to West Point in May 1864. General Hazen believed Bierce would graduate from the military academy "with distinction" and William T. Sherman also endorsed the application for admission, even though stating he had no personal acquaintance with Bierce. In June 1864, Bierce sustained a traumatic brain injury at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain and spent the rest of the summer on furlough, returning to active duty in September. He was discharged from the army in January 1865. His military career resumed in mid-1866, when he joined General Hazen as part of an expedition to inspect military outposts across the Great Plains. The expedition traveled by horseback and wagon from Omaha, Nebraska, arriving toward year's end in San Francisco, California. In the city, Bierce was awarded the rank of brevet major before resigning from the Army. Journalism Bierce remained in San Francisco for many years, eventually becoming famous as a contributor or editor of newspapers and periodicals, including The San Francisco News Letter, The Argonaut, the Overland Monthly, The Californian and The Wasp. A selection of his crime reporting from The San Francisco News Letter was included in the Library of America anthology True Crime. Bierce lived and wrote in England from 1872 to 1875, contributing to Fun magazine. His first book, The Fiend's Delight, a compilation of his articles, was published in London in 1873 by John Camden Hotten under the pseudonym "Dod Grile".Returning to the United States, he again took up residence in San Francisco. From 1879 to 1880, he traveled to Rockerville and Deadwood in the Dakota Territory, to try his hand as local manager for a New York mining company. When the company failed he returned to San Francisco and resumed his career in journalism. From January 1, 1881, until September 11, 1885, he was editor of The Wasp magazine, in which he began a column titled "Prattle". He also became one of the first regular columnists and editorialists on William Randolph Hearst's newspaper, the San Francisco Examiner, eventually becoming one of the most prominent and influential writers and journalists on the West Coast. He remained associated with Hearst Newspapers until 1909. Railroad refinancing bill The Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroad companies had received large, low-interest loans from the U.S. government to build the first transcontinental railroad. Central Pacific executive Collis P. Huntington persuaded a friendly member of Congress to introduce a bill excusing the companies from repaying the loans, amounting to $130 million (worth $4.57 billion today). In January 1896 Hearst dispatched Bierce to Washington, D.C., to foil this attempt. The essence of the plot was secrecy; the railroads' advocates hoped to get the bill through Congress without any public notice or hearings. When the angered Huntington confronted Bierce on the steps of the Capitol and told Bierce to name his price, Bierce's answer ended up in newspapers nationwide: "My price is one hundred thirty million dollars. If, when you are ready to pay, I happen to be out of town, you may hand it over to my friend, the Treasurer of the United States."Bierce's coverage and diatribes on the subject aroused such public wrath that the bill was defeated. Bierce returned to California in November. In 1899, he moved back to Washington, D.C., and remained a resident until his disappearance in 1913. The best known of his four different residences in the city during this time perhaps is the townhouse at 18 Logan Circle. McKinley contro.... Discover the Ambrose Bierce popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Ambrose Bierce books.

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  • 7 best short stories by Amelia B. Edwards synopsis, comments

    7 best short stories by Amelia B. Edwards

    Amelia B. Edwards & August Nemo

    Amelia B. Edwards was a versatile woman, who had been a journalist, writer and Egyptologist. Her tales of horror and ghost became very famous at the time of release. In this book, ...

  • The Complete Short Stories of Ambrose Bierce synopsis, comments

    The Complete Short Stories of Ambrose Bierce

    Ambrose Bierce

    American journalist and satirist Ambrose Bierce is probably best known for his short stories about the American Civil War. The author's craft for storytelling is exemplified by...

  • 7 best short stories by John Buchan synopsis, comments

    7 best short stories by John Buchan

    John Buchan & August Nemo

    Although little known today, John Buchan's fiction was important in defining the present mystery fiction. The critic August Nemo selected seven short stories by this author for...

  • Complete Works of Ambrose Bierce. Illustrated synopsis, comments

    Complete Works of Ambrose Bierce. Illustrated

    Ambrose Bierce

    Ambrose Bierce is considered a modern master of the short story. A soldier with the Union Army during the American Civil War (18611865), his experiences as a soldier influenced his...

  • Classic Horror Tales synopsis, comments

    Classic Horror Tales

    Editors of Canterbury Classics

    Curl up with this collection of classic scary stories from the masters of the genre.With dozens of stories of the macabre, fantastic, and supernatural, Classic Horror Tales is sure...

  • Lighting Out for the Territory synopsis, comments

    Lighting Out for the Territory

    Roy Jr. Morris

    In the very last paragraph of Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the title character gloomily reckons that it’s time “to light out for the Territory ahead of the rest.” T...

  • 7 mejores cuentos de Ambrose Bierce synopsis, comments

    7 mejores cuentos de Ambrose Bierce

    Ambrose Bierce & August Nemo

    La serie de libros "7 mejores cuentos" presenta los grandes nombres de la literatura en lengua española. En este volumen traemos a Ambrose Bierce, un editor, periodista, es...

  • An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge synopsis, comments

    An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

    Ambrose Bierce

    An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Ambrose Bierce The condemned guy stands on a bridge, his arms sure behind his back. A noose is tied round his neck. In a moment he's going to...

  • Ambrose Bierce synopsis, comments

    Ambrose Bierce

    Vincent Starrett

    This book is a biography of the famous American satirist and short story writer.

  • Classic Tales of Horror synopsis, comments

    Classic Tales of Horror

    Editors of Canterbury Classics & Ernest Hilbert

    Spinetingling tales that will keep you on the edge of your seat!This chilling collection of scary stories will keep you awake for hours! Psychological horrors, disturbing dramas, a...

  • 7 best short stories by Robert E. Howard synopsis, comments

    7 best short stories by Robert E. Howard

    Robert E. Howard & August Nemo

    Robert E. Howard was one among the greatest writers of adventure and fantasy stories. In a writing career that thrived for over a period of twelve years, Howard authored more than ...

  • The Letters of Ambrose Bierce synopsis, comments

    The Letters of Ambrose Bierce

    Ambrose Bierce

    It is a biographical book. The question that starts to the lips of ninetynine readers out of a hundred', says Arnold Bennett, in a review in the London New Age in 1909, 'even the b...

  • The Collected Works of Algernon Blackwood synopsis, comments

    The Collected Works of Algernon Blackwood

    Algernon Blackwood

    This unique eBook edition of: "The Collected Works of Algernon Blackwood" has been formatted to the highest digital standards and adjusted for readability on all devices. C...

  • Flight or Fright synopsis, comments

    Flight or Fright

    Stephen King

    #1 New York Times bestselling author and master of horror Stephen King teams up with Bev Vincent of Cemetery Dance to present a terrifying collection of sixteen short stories (and ...

  • The Old Gringo synopsis, comments

    The Old Gringo

    Carlos Fuentes & Margaret Sayers Peden

    In The Old Gringo, Carlos Fuentes brings the Mexico of 1916 uncannily to life. This novel is wise book, full of toughness and humanity and is without question one of the finest wor...

  • The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce, Volume 8 synopsis, comments

    The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce, Volume 8

    Ambrose Bierce

    (June 24, 1842[2] – Circa 1914[1]) was an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist, and satirist. He wrote the short story "An ...

  • The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce, Volume 1 synopsis, comments

    The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce, Volume 1

    Ambrose Bierce

    The best from the legendary 19thcentury journalist, including stories that still amuse, shock, and entertain. The Devil's Dictionary, Can Such Things Be? Negligible Tales, and more...

  • Legends and Lies synopsis, comments

    Legends and Lies

    Dale L Walker

    "All of history is mystery," Dale L. Walker says, and he proves his point in this lively, humorousand rationalapproach to the West's greatest puzzles. Did Davy Crockett, for exampl...

  • 7 best short stories - Absurdist synopsis, comments

    7 best short stories - Absurdist

    August Nemo, H. P. Lovecraft, Daniil Kharms & Franz Kafka

    Absurdist fiction is a genre of fictional narrative (traditionally, literary fiction), most often in the form of a novel, play, poem, or film, that focuses on the experiences of ch...

  • What I Saw of Shiloh -The Memories and Experiences of Ambrose Bierce During the American Civil War synopsis, comments

    What I Saw of Shiloh -The Memories and Experiences of Ambrose Bierce During the American Civil War

    Ambrose Bierce

    Ambrose Bierce was one of the most famous writers in the world at the turn of the 20th century, a vocal and passion critic and probably best known for his works centred on the Amer...

  • The Masters of Horror for Halloween synopsis, comments

    The Masters of Horror for Halloween

    Edgar Allan Poe, H. P. Lovecraft, Ambrose Bierce & Arthur Machen

    eartnow presents to you this unique collection made especially for Halloween with carefully picked out stories from the very masters of the genre: H. P. Lovecraft: The Call of Cthu...

  • The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce synopsis, comments

    The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce

    Ambrose Bierce & Adolphe Danziger

    This comprehensive eBook presents the complete works or all the significant works the Œuvre of this famous and brilliant writer in one ebook 5100 pages easytoread and easytonavi...

  • Ambrose Bierce - Selected stories synopsis, comments

    Ambrose Bierce - Selected stories

    Ambrose Bierce

    Ambrose Bierce Selected storiesAn Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge A Baby Tramp  If you had seen little Jo standing at the street corner in the rain, you would hardly...

  • JOHN SILENCE SERIES - Complete Collection synopsis, comments

    JOHN SILENCE SERIES - Complete Collection

    Algernon Blackwood

    This carefully crafted ebook: "JOHN SILENCE SERIES Complete Collection: A Psychical Invasion + Ancient Sorceries + The Nemesis of Fire + Secret Worship + The Camp of the Dog +...

  • The Weird synopsis, comments

    The Weird

    Jeff VanderMeer & Ann VanderMeer

    From Lovecraft to Borges to Gaiman, a century of intrepid literary experimentation has created a corpus of dark and strange stories that transcend all known genre boundaries. Toget...