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Shadows of Blue & Gray: The Civil War Writings of Ambrose Bierce

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It's easy to look back and view wars as things of glory - the history books tend to lead us in that direction by viewing the action from lofty heights, speaking in terms of armies and strategies and generals. The reality - as those who have `been there' know too well (and no, I'm not claiming to be a veteran) - is that the old adage is all too true: war is definitely hell, and we should never, ever forget that fact.

Ambrose Bierce is known today mainly through his fiction - many fine examples of which appear in this collection - and through THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY. He `might or might not' be the subject and/or inspiration for Carlos Fuentes' novel THE OLD GRINGO, also made into a film. His stories have a decidedly `creepy' feel to them - he was no Edgar Allan Poe, perhaps, but he was a talented writer nonetheless...and as not only the short stories, but also the non-fiction pieces collected here demonstrate, he was a careful and articulate observer. We are truly blessed that he chose to recount what he had seen, both in the form of short stories and memoirs. His disappearance in 1914 in Mexico has added to his mystique over the ensuing years.

The most famous of the short stories contained in this volume is undoubtedly `An occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge'. I remember reading it in high school (NO, I won't say how long ago that was...) - and it was filmed to great effect by director Roberto Enrico in 1962, and was subsequently aired in the US as an episode in the last season of THE TWILGHT ZONE on CBS. It won an Oscar in 1964 as Best Foreign Short Film. The story is a masterpiece of suspense - it's a great literary epitaph for Bierce.

Bierce served in the Civil War - he enlisted at its outset and saw quite a bit of action. He rose through the ranks to lieutenant and served on the staff of various high-ranking officers. It is his observations and experiences - and his empathy with the troops, the enlisted men, the common man - that lend such a value to his writings. Too much `Hollywood-izing' has been forced upon the truth - about the Civil War and almost everything the film industry touches. It's a treasure to have the pieces here to vividly remind us of what the experience was really like.

There is humor here as well - Bierce's wit was an acerbic sword, and he unsheathed it on the high and low alike, without sparing himself in the process. His characterizations of the generals under whom he served, as well as the enlisted soldiers, the post-war opportunists, and the intellectual crowd with whom he mingled both in the US and abroad, are rich indeed.

The language is understandably a bit archaic in places - but I found myself getting used to it pretty quickly. As a result, the book took me a bit longer to read than the contemporary fiction I normally favor - but it was definitely worth the time. I can recommend this collection to aficionados of fiction and history buffs alike - a great read.

Ambrose Bierce participated in many of the great Civil War battles. While I realise this book is written as fiction I would submit to the reader that it is fact. Ambrose has this gifted way of speach that brings to life the horrors he witness. You will shiver with goose bumps! You won't sleep with the lights out after reading his stories. No way!
I could not put this chilling book down. It was as if it was possess! Ambrose disappeared in 1914 a old man who walked into Mexico. Maybe he is still walking and telling these stories. I would like to think so.

This book is great if you like short stories and the civil war. However, don't read this if you want an all military perspective. Ambrose Bierce would have been a good screenwriter because he has plot twists in almost every story.

I've read some three hundred books and reference books on the Civil War, but Ambrose Bierce's works always fascinated me for their gritty, and almost mystic qualities! The problem was, I only read about a half dozen of his works, mostly in summary books of several Civil War authors and stories. What this book presents is the complete works of Bierce, taken from his initial publication in 1909, but lost shortly afterward due to critical reviews by other writers who disdained his style. So if you haven't read this book, you've hardly touched the works of the actual Civil War Union soldier, who fought in the Western Theater of the War, and related how it looked to him, how it felt to him, and areas of supernatural thoughts that came to him over the tragedy of what he experienced!

Most of the works concern the Civil War, but some are from time periods afterward, and they all evoke the style that made his works so different than most other authors of the time! This is not a reference book by any means, but more like a diary of a highly influenced young soldier during the most trying period of his life.

The paperback book I ordered arrived very quickly and in excellent condition. I was very pleased with transaction.

A very good way to get a look at the civil war through short stories. Should be mandatory reading in every high school in the nation.