Other editions of book Devil's Dictionary, The

Regarded as one of the most influential American journalists of the late 19th and early 20th century, Ambrose Bierce was the Civil War veteran who was best known for his stories of the American Civil War and for his satirical witticisms. Written over several decades “The Devil’s Dictionary” is the ultimate collection of his lexicon of satirical definitions. Bierce’s earliest known definition was first published in 1867. Over the next several decades he would add numerous definitions to his satirical essays, in his weekly columns “The Town Crier” and “Prattle”, and in his personal letters. These definitions were first collected in book form in 1906 as “The Cynic’s Word Book” and later expanded as “The Devil’s Dictionary” in 1911. Not a real dictionary, but rather a lampoon of the English language, “The Devil’s Dictionary” provides satirical, witty and often politically pointed representations of the words that it seeks to “define”. Regarded by the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration as one of “The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature”, “The Devil’s Dictionary” is a unique masterpiece of cynical wit. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

In the days before ‘bathroom readers’ were articles in newsprints called ‘cynic columns’ where humor mixed with wit mixed with ridiculed events of the day were both laughed and scoffed at. Ambrose Bierce decided it would be a great laugh to write a dictionary of his favorite words and their ‘truest’ definitions. Mixed in to words are descriptions in prose and humoristic poetry because words mean more than they are. This book is a jab at the stoic and content and a riot of joy, humor and all around ridiculousness. As the title indicates, only someone with devilish intent would dare cross so many moral boundaries.Includes a biography of the Author as well as classic art images.

The Devil's Dictionary is a satirical dictionary written by American Civil War soldier, wit, and writer Ambrose Bierce consisting of common words followed by humorous and satirical definitions. The lexicon was written over three decades as a series of installments for magazines and newspapers. Bierce’s witty definitions were imitated and plagiarized for years before he gathered them into books, first as The Cynic's Word Book in 1906 and then in a more complete version as The Devil's Dictionary in 1911.Initial reception of the book versions was mixed. In the decades following, however, the stature of The Devil's Dictionary grew. It has been widely quoted, frequently translated, and often imitated, earning a global reputation. In the 1970s, The Devil's Dictionary was named as one of "The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature" by the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration. It has been called "howlingly funny", and Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Zweig wrote that The Devil's Dictionary is "probably the most brilliant work of satire written in America. And maybe one of the greatest in all of world literature."

Why buy our paperbacks? Standard Font size of 10 for all books High Quality Paper Fulfilled by Amazon Expedited shipping 30 Days Money Back Guarantee BEWARE of Low-quality sellers Don't buy cheap paperbacks just to save a few dollars. Most of them use low-quality papers & binding. Their pages fall off easily. Some of them even use very small font size of 6 or less to increase their profit margin. It makes their books completely unreadable. How is this book unique? Unabridged (100% Original content) Font adjustments & biography included Illustrated About The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce The Devil's Dictionary is a satirical dictionary written by American journalist and author Ambrose Bierce. The Devil's Dictionary began during Bierce's time as a columnist for the San Francisco News Letter, a small weekly financial magazine founded by Frederick Marriott in the late 1850s. Although it was a serious magazine aimed at businessmen, it contained a page of informal satirical content titled The Town Crier. Hired as the Crier's editor in December 1868, Bierce wrote satire with such irreverence and lack of inhibition he was nicknamed the laughing devil of San Francisco.

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.

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.

This diabolically clever, mercilessly phrased volley of epigrams - alphabetized and documented with a profusion of apocryphal quotations - pointedly defines man's most sacred absurdities and punctures his most comfortably pompous habits of thought (Habit, n. A shackle for the free). The collection, which H. L. Mencken declared contained "some of the most gorgeous witticisms in the English language," began in a weekly paper in 1881 and ran to 1906, in which year it was published in book form; it did not, however, appear under the name The Devil's Dictionary for another five years, since that title was at first thought to be lacking in reverence. The work is addressed, the author said, to all those who "prefer dry wines to sweet, sense to sentiment, wit to humor and clean English to slang."