Tales of Soldiers and Civilians ─ And Other Stories

Witty, irreverent tales of war and the supernatural from the maverick misanthrope of American literature. Questing after Pancho Villa's revolutionary forces, Ambose Bierce rode into Mexico in 1913 & vanished off the face of the earth. Though his ultimate fate remains a mystery to this day, Bierce's contribution to American letters rests firmly on the basis of his incomparable Devil's Dictionary & a remarkable body of short fiction. This new collection gathers some three dozen of Bierce's finest stories, including the celebrated Civil War fictions "An Occurrence at Owl Creek" & "Chickamauga," his macabre masterpieces "The Damned Thing" & "Moxon's Master," & his hilariously horrific "Oil of Dog" & "My Favorite Murder." Tom Quirk, the volume's editor, provides a fascinating introductory essay, as well as indispensable explanatory notes, a glossary of military terms & a catalog of Civil War battle sites & leaders.