Fantastic Fables (Dover Thrift Editions) [Paperback]

Ambrose Bierce (Author)

Book Description

Series: Dover Thrift Editions | Publication Date: June 16, 2011

Known as "the American Swift," Ambrose Bierce gleefully skewered greedy politicians, thieving doctors, not-so-pious holy men, and other hypocritical individuals and institutions in this unique book. With his characteristic blend of sarcasm and satire, Bierce presents 245 fables that rival Aesop and La Fontaine in their mordant wit and keen insights into human nature.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (June 16, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 048622225X
• ISBN-13: 978-0486222257
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #483,629 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A little gem  right where it hurts, October 30, 2000

By 

Philip Challinor - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fantastic Fables (Dover Thrift Editions) (Paperback)

This book stands with the Devil's Dictionary and In the Midst of Life as one of Ambrose Bierce's finest achievements. Dozens and dozens of short - sometimes very short - fables, each one a small, sharp needle in the backside of respectable hypocrisy. Some are simply written-out jokes, like the one about the baby ostrich who swallowed a bottle-cap ("Go quickly, my child, and swallow a corkscrew", says its mother); but the best of them to my mind are those featuring metaphors or abstract concepts as characters, like the one about the Moral Principle and the Temporary Expedient which met on a narrow bridge one day with predictably humiliating results. All the usual suspects are here - corrupt politicians, pious hypocrites, daffy judges and members of the Women's Press Association snarl, whimper, wheedle, preach, cheat and sneak alongside various Pairs of Hands making unauthorised incursions into Treauries, Streaks of Lightning failing to match the speed of Politicians Running for Office, and Blotted Escutcheons doing what Blotted Escutcheons do. Readers of the Devil's Dictionary, with its numerous improving anecdotes and rhymes, will know what to expect; anyone else is in for a treat, or possibly a coronary.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 245 bits of wisdom from an American master, September 22, 2003

By 

gac1003 "gac1003" (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fantastic Fables (Paperback)

This unique book is filled with 245 "fantastic fables" as Ambrose Bierce termed them. Each one is a classic of Bierce's bitterness and insight into such things as greedy politicians, not-so-holy holy men, legislators, doctors, judges, dogs sheep, lions and diplomats. Many read more like anecdotes, but in true fable style, he personifies animals as well as ideas, and even creates his own fantastic characters, such as the Pahdour of Patagascar and the Gookul of Madagonia. Bierce attacks each fable with much of his own sarcasm and satirical style. He even re-works some of Aesop's reknowned fables to suit his needs. Fans of Bierce's work will want to add these little gems to his or her collection.