Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) was an American satirist, critic, poet, short story writer, editor, and journalist. He eventually became the literary despot of the West Coast, so admired and feared that his review could make or break an aspiring author's career. Bierce's lucid, economic style and lack of maudlin sentiment have kept him popular while many of his once famous contemporaries have become obscure.
Known best for the pithy and acerbic Devil's Dictionary, which is excerpted in this anthology, Bierce is also regarded as one of the finest storytellers of the nineteenth century; his war and horror stories are especially compelling. Poetry and correspondence round out this selection from one of California's most curmudgeonly yet beloved authors.