A prolific journalist and author well known for his tales of horror
and stories about the Civil War, Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?) was
also a mordant commentator on the political, social, legal, and
intellectual failings of his countrymen. Throughout his career, he
remained an unapologetic curmudgeon who took a dim view of
everything from trade unions and the temperance movement to
Americans' insatiable thirst for money. Even the very principles of
democracy did not escape his skeptical pen.
This volume brings together a generous sampling of Bierce's
scathing fictional satires, many of which have not been reprinted
since their first appearance a century ago. In writing these works,
Bierce often employed fanciful devices, such as assuming the
perspective of a future historian looking back on the follies of
the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Among such
selections, "Ashes of the Beacon" is perhaps the finest, with its
trenchant comments on socialism, anarchy, and the problems of
republican government. In another fictional piece, "The Land Beyond
the Blow," Bierce recounts voyages to an imaginary world in the
style of Gulliver's Travels, commenting on bizarre political and
social customs that, not coincidentally, mirror America's
own.
The volume also includes a rich array of still-relevant nonfiction
essays on such topics as capital punishment, the evils of
insurance, and the unpleasant disposition of the canines that roam
the nation's capital. These pieces reflect many of the same
concerns Bierce addresses in his fictional satires, albeit in a
more direct way.
The selections are drawn from contributions to newspapers and
magazines and from Bierce's Collected Works, and include many
unsigned editorials that Bierce wrote for the San Francisco
Examiner. Editors S.T. Joshi and David E. Schultz have thoroughly
annotated the pieces and have written a substantial introduction
outlining the aspects of Bierce's political thought. The resulting
volume is essential reading for anyone who appreciates lively
commentary desgined to puncture the hypocrisies and sentimentality
of Bierce's contemporaries, whatever their beliefs. It fills a
major gap in Bierce scholarship and allows us to see the world as
the notorious cynic did.
The Editors: S.T. Joshi and David E. Schultz have collaborated
extensively on books devoted to Ambrose Bierce, H.P. Lovecraft, and
other literary figures. The edited Bierce's A Sole Survivor: Bits
of Autobiography, also published by the University of Tennessee
Press, and an annotated edition of Bierce's Devil's Dictionary.
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