Ambrose Bierce is considered one of the great American writers, ranked with Mark Twain, Edgar Allen Poe, and Nathaniel Hawthorne. He was renowned for his wit and his wide literary talents, encompassing satire, horror, literary criticism, and journalism.
Bierce was born on June 24, 1842 to Marcus Aurelius Bierce and Laura Sherwood Bierce. He was the tenth of thirteen children, all of whom received names beginning with the letter A. Though his family was never close to him, their extensive library did ignite the spark of literary ambition in the young Bierce.
At the age of fifteen, Bierce became a printer's devil at a small Ohio newspaper. He later joined the Union army during the Civil...
