Customer Reviews

Civil War Stories (Dover Thrift Editions)

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You would never think of these stories as having been written in the 19th century, but they were. Ambrose Bierce was a Civil War veteran who seems almost to have tried to exorcise the horrors of the war he lived by writing about it. The result is gripping and utterly believable; the style is immediate, you-are-there, not-one-word-too-many. Not the flowery elaborate style you might have associated with Victorian prose.

The results convey the horrors of war as well as anything written in your lifetime. The story about the little boy who gets lost near his home when it is surrounded by a battle...I don't think I'll ever forget it. I won't spoil if for you but you've got to read it. If you think that 130+-year-old stories have nothing to say to you, give these a try, you will see otherwise.

Not to mention the Dover version is NOT EVEN TWO DOLLARS at the time of this writing. You spent more than the price of this book on your coffee this morning, I'll bet. What have you got to lose? Add it to a Supersaver order, there won't even be a shipping charge. Best pocket change you will ever have spent on a book.

I know fans of Poe, Hemmingway, Thurber, and others could argue with me on the above title and the review below. However, please keep in mind that these are simply my opinions and reflect my respect for this excellent writer.

Bierce's Civil War stories are simply the best in that genre, with "An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge" possibly being the most famous American short story ever written. The "surprise ending" was often exercised by him in many of his stories and many first-time readers will undoubtedly be jolted by his prose.

This is a man who personally experienced the horror of the war he so vividly describes and the anguish of its inevitable aftermath. Bierce fought in some of the bloodiest, most ferocious campaigns of the Civil War, nearly losing his life in several of them. He was duly decorated for his heroism, but it certainly left an indelible scar in his mind which is reflected in his writing.

Bierce's stories are not war stories; they are indictments of war and its immense madness. None of them reflect any glamour or glory; they are coldly realistic. The protagonist in each case experiences some form tragedy and/or anguish resulting from the war's effects.

One of Bierce's final Civil War stories entitled, "A Bivouac for the Dead" is not fictitious, but a testimony to the soldiers who fought in the war and a tribute to their memories. It is a rare instance of a positive story coming from a writer who made his reputation as a solemn, sardonic, often negative-thinking person.

No matter what people think of Bierce, every story I've read by him is vivid in their contents: setting, character development, plot. His prose is very succinct and often extremely graphic (ie: the wounded soldiers from "Chiquaumaga"), but doubtless very attention-grabbing.

Bierce's other short stories (horror, tall tales) also carry his signature negativity and often brilliant and biting humor. However, I think his Civil War stories are the true reflection of his storytelling genius. This book highly recommended to Civil War buffs and anyone who wants to read and learn about the short story format.

Ambrose Bierce served during the American Civil War, serving as a cartographer and officer for the Union. In these 16 compelling tales, Bierce conveys the sights and sounds from a soldier's perspective of the war, ranging from being in the heart of battle in "What I Saw of Shiloh" to a young boy lost in the woods in "Chickamauga" to tales of the supernatural and of odd events, including "One of the Missing" -- a chilling tale of a soldier in an abandoned house -- and his famous "An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge." Bierce's no-nonsense style puts the reader in the heart of the action, making the reader take an active part in the events. A great collection of stories from one of America's best writers.

Ambrose Bierce was not a likeable individual; he was often acerbic, sarcastic, and even mean spirited. Nonetheless, he created remarkably good short stories. This collection shares a common theme, the Civil War, but the individual stories belong to many different genre and will appeal to a wide audience. There is no need to be a Civil War enthusiast to enjoy this collection.

Ambrose Bierce fought in several bloody battles in the west in the Civil War including Shiloh and Chickamauga, is credited with rescuing wounded comrades under fire, and was badly wounded at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain. The first story - What I Saw of Shiloh - is a 17-page fascinating, occasionally critical, first person account of his participation.

The next story - Four Days in Dixie - is another first person account, but I simply do not know whether Bierce was being truthful or not. Whether the truth, an exaggeration, or perhaps a fabrication, Four Days in Dixie is entertaining reading.

The remaining fourteen stories are clearly fiction and are characterized by unusual perspectives and unexpected endings. The tales of Ambrose Bierce not only make exciting, entertaining reading, but they are often thought provoking. The endings often come as a surprise, and leave the reader pondering the unusual outcome.

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge is a good example. This story spans several genre, is not easily classified, and has an unexpected ending. This remarkable story has been recreated as a screen play and may be familiar to many readers from black and white television reruns of the Twilight Zone series.

This collection is uniformly good and warrants more than one reading. This Dover Thrift Edition is definitely a bargain.

Today, if known at all, Ambrose Bierce is recalled as that guy who wrote that funny book The Devil's Dictionary. He was seen, and still is seen, as a sort of poor man's Mark Twain. This is quite unfair, as he was a marvelous writer in his own right, although not with the depth nor wit that Twain possessed. Part of the problem is that his personal life, strong opinions, and bitter biases (he loathed Oscar Wilde, for example), have led to his marginalization. Yet, Bierce was a master of the short story form- every bit the equal or superior of more lauded contemporaries like Guy de Maupassant, or O. Henry. Mostly, it is in the horror or thriller vein that his tales fall, but his best work, in my opinion, can be found in his marvelous tales of the Civil War....These are simply riveting tales, far more modern than his contemporaries work, and most of this is due to Bierce's journalistic background (he worked for William Randolph Hearst at the San Francisco Examiner). About the only thing that keeps the tales from a full claim on modernity is Bierce's penchant for twist endings, rather than the more naturalistic zero endings that Anton Chekhov pioneered, and others ran with. Still, the description that Bierce paints- of lives, deaths, moments, and battles, are rich, horrific, and vivid. His characters are usually merely servants to the overall narrative- another `throwback' trait of pre-modern fiction, but ask yourself- is there a character in all of Donald Barthelme's or Rick Moody's writing that is not cardboard? Bierce was simply not attempting great character portraits, in general, so to hold him up to that standard is not tenable. By every other measure, though, his tales could have been penned by a modern writer covering Vietnam or the two Iraq wars....The stories are first rate, and mustr reading fore anyone enamored of short stories, or those just interested in American history, or the Civil War. As for the man himself? In 1913, after a series of personal setbacks- deaths of sons and a divorce, he set out for Mexico to cover Pancho Villa and the Mexican Revolution. His last written words were: `Goodbye, if you hear of my being stood up against a Mexican stone wall and shot to rags, please know that I think it a pretty good way to depart this life. It beats old age, disease, or falling down the cellar stairs. To be a Gringo in Mexico- ah, that is euthanasia!' It is fitting that such an enigmatic man and writer would leave such an epitaph, but that is not his legacy. These great stories are- read, learn, but most of all enjoy.

This book was written in an old type of writing/format which could be difficult to follow. The content was mainly concerned with the hardships the soldiers faced, not on the movements and plans for the battles. Good descriptions, good stories.

Ambrose Bierce was a Civil War soldier who participated in many bloody campaigns. And the stories contained herein this title, are the output of his frustration over the violence and senseless destruction of that time.

His trademark wit abounds throughout, which isn't of the Jay Leno "Ha-ha! Look at me! I'm a big-chinned clown!" sort, but rather of the "Look at how terribly cruel people are!" sort. The stark dialog with its terse exchange between characters, transcends the page to imprint upon the mind of the reader, that the world is a harsh foreboding place in which to attempt survival.

My favorite story is 'The Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge'. The descriptive narrative at Bierce's command, utilized to describe the hanging of a rebel spy, left me breathless and checking my neck for bruises.

Ambrose Bierce was a literary genius who never wrote his great novel. No, because such epic proportions were unnecessary. For Ambrose Bierce in short form, could convey all the depth and meaning of the universe, while resorting to only a modicum of grammar. He is the greatest humorist and wit that this country, and thereby the world, has ever produced. I miss him greatly.

This book stands as a vivid reminder, of that which led Bierce to become so wonderfully cynical. And this work should have the same effect upon all who dare read it. At least that is my hope.

Ambrose Bierce reminds you of O'Henry, Mark Twain and Bret Harte:
he has a unique sense of honor and irony. I feel I should have read him when I read The Red Badge of Courage: An Episode of the Civil War. These stories have the cast of eye witness accounts of the crudity
of a civil war when brother fights brother and father fights son
over ideals like rights and freedoms.
I liked these stories very much
and I think those going to war should
read them today.

Bierce writes with the eye of a skeptic and beyond the hurahhs and romantic vision of war. Given his later life the war apparently made an immpression on him which lasted till death.
The carnage, vile bloddy scenes, the death never left him and it was obvious in his writings and life. Good book to see the unvarnished truth!!

Bierce does an excellent job of presenting the darkest parts of the Civil War: loss, death, betrayal. His short stories are clever and often take unexpected twists. An engrossing read.