Ambrose Bierce (Gutenberg Index)

Ambrose Bierce wrote stories that still sting a century later. In the American South during the Civil War, he learned that men die badly and God does not explain why. This compilation gathers his essential works: the masterpiece 'An Occurrence at Owl Creek,' with its devastating twist ending; the wickedly funny 'The Devil's Dictionary,' where words become weapons against human pretension; and dozens of tales of the supernatural, the grotesque, and the absurdly cruel. Bierce's prose cuts clean. He has no patience for sentiment. What remains is the hard truth that life is brief, meaningless, and frequently hilarious in its absurdity. For readers who like their literature sharp and unsentimental, this collection is essential. It captures one of America's original dark voices in full cry.