Books with author Ambrose Bierce

Contents: The Ways of Ghosts Present at a Hanging A Cold Greeting A Wireless Message An Arrest Soldier-Folk A Man with Two Lives Three and One are One A Baffled Ambuscade Two Military Executions Some Haunted Houses The Isle of Pines A Fruitless Assignment A Vine on a House At Old Man Eckert's The Spook House The Other Lodgers The Thing at Nolan The Difficulty of Crossing a Field An Unfinished Race Charles Ashmore's Trail Science to the Front My peculiar relation to the writer of the following narratives is such that I must ask the reader to overlook the absence of explanation as to how they came into my possession. Withal, my knowledge of him is so meager that I should rather not undertake to say if he were himself persuaded of the truth of what he relates; certainly such inquiries as I have thought it worth while to set about have not in every instance tended to confirmation of the statements made. Yet his style, for the most part devoid alike of artifice and art, almost baldly simple and direct, seems hardly compatible with the disingenuousness of a merely literary intention; one would call it the manner of one more concerned for the fruits of research than for the flowers of expression. In transcribing his notes and fortifying their claim to attention by giving them something of an orderly arrangement, I have conscientiously refrained from embellishing them with such small ornaments of diction as I may have felt myself able to bestow, which would not only have been impertinent, even if pleasing, but would have given me a somewhat closer relation to the work than I should care to have and to avow.--A. B.

The Devil's Dictionary is a satirical "reference" book written by Ambrose Bierce. The book offers reinterpretations of terms in the English language, lampooning cant and political doublespeak, as well as other aspects of human foolishness and frailty. It was originally published in 1906 as The Cynic's Word Book before being retitled in 1911. Modern "unabridged" versions that include Bierce "definitions" that were for various reasons missed by earlier editions continue to be popular a century later.

American satirist AMBROSE GWINNETT BIERCE (1842-c. 1914) began his satirical redefinitions of ordinary words in a weekly newspaper in 1881, and saw them first collected in *The Cynic's Word Book* in 1906. But it was with the 1911 republication as *The Devil's Dictionary* that he struck comedy gold for the ages with his pointedly mocking and ironic riffs on politics, business, religion, the arts, and American culture at large. From *abasement* ("a decent and customary mental attitude in the presence of wealth or power; peculiarly appropriate in an employee when addressing an employer") to *zoology* ("the science and history of the animal kingdom, including its king, the House Fly"), *The Devil's Dictionary* remains as witty today as it was a century ago.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

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The Library of Alexandria is an independent small business publishing house. We specialize in bringing back to live rare, historical and ancient books. This includes manuscripts such as: classical fiction, philosophy, science, religion, folklore, mythology, history, literature, politics and sacred texts, in addition to secret and esoteric subjects, such as: occult, freemasonry, alchemy, hermetic, shamanism and ancient knowledge. Our books are available in digital format. We have approximately 50 thousand titles in 40 different languages and we work hard every single day in order to convert more titles to digital format and make them available for our readers. Currently, we have 2000 titles available for purchase in 35 Countries in addition to the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Our titles contain an interactive table of contents for ease of navigation of the book. We sincerely hope you enjoy these treasures in the form of digital books.

Quotation, n: The act of repeating erroneously the words of another. Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary And this is just one of hundreds of pithy quotations taken directly from Ambrose Bierce's wildly popular and hilarious dictionary, aptly named The Devil's Dictionary. In the preface, Bierce explains how The Devil's Dictionary came to be: it is a collection of satirical word definitions that were first published in a newspaper over the course of several years. Bierce wrote the definitions as criticisms of political and social hypocrisy. The droll definitions and sharp wit of Bierce became incredibly popular. Soon, other publications were printing the definitions. Bierce was anthologized in many compilations of "cynic" writers, works that gained a reputation for being "silly." To refute the bad reputation his intelligent and exacting definitions were receiving by being associated with such idiocy, Bierce compiled his work and published it as The Devil's Dictionary. To his supporters he writes, "In merely resuming his own the author hopes to be held guiltless by those to whom the work is addressed -- enlightened souls who prefer dry wines to sweet, sense to sentiment, wit to humor and clean English to slang." Bierce chose the title The Devil's Dictionary over the title The Cynic's Word Book. The dictionary has become a classic, and its candid observations have remained relevant a century later. Bierce's canon of work includes poetry, many short stories, and several novels and essays. The Devil's Dictionary is a unique work that perfectly illustrates his amazing capacity for impeccable word choice, his skepticism, and his dry humor and wit. Title: The Devil's Dictionary Author: Ambrose Bierce ISBN: 9781775420248 Version: Unabridged Language: English Reader: Various Format: MP3 Audio CD Tracks / Chapters: 17 Chapters Total running time: 08:25:48