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| Civil War Stories (Dover Thrift Editions) | 
| Author: Ambrose Bierce
Publisher: Dover Publications
Category: Book
List Price: $1.50
Buy Used: $0.01
You Save: $1.49 (99%)
New (39) Collectible (4) from $0.22
Avg. Customer Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 96087
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 128
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.1 x 0.4
ISBN: 0486280381
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.4
EAN: 9780486280387
ASIN: 0486280381
Publication Date: August 1, 1994
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 1-5 of 11 | | NEXT » |
 Very good short stories about war June 6, 2008
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.
 Exceptionally Good Collection - Great Reading November 6, 2005
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
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.
A Soldier's View of the Civil War October 18, 2005
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
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.
HISTORY IN THE 1ST PERSON........ September 4, 2005
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!!
Ambrose Bierce: Hero/Genius/Necromancer November 10, 2004
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.
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