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Photo:California Faces: Selections from The Bancroft Library Portrait Collection Bierce
Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842[1] – 1914?) was an American editorialist, journalist, short-story writer and satirist. Today, he is best known for his short story, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge and his satirical dictionary, The Devil's Dictionary.
The sardonic view of human nature that informed his work – along with his vehemence as a critic – earned him the nickname "Bitter Bierce". Despite his reputation as a searing critic, however, Bierce was known to encourage younger writers, including poet George Sterling and fiction writer W. C. Morrow. He is known for his distinctive style of writing, which his stories often share. This includes a cold open, use of dark imagery, vague references to time, limited description, war-themed pieces and use of impossible events.
In 1913, Bierce traveled to Mexico to gain a firsthand perspective on that country's ongoing revolution. While traveling with rebel troops, the elderly writer disappeared without a trace.
The sardonic view of human nature that informed his work – along with his vehemence as a critic – earned him the nickname "Bitter Bierce". Despite his reputation as a searing critic, however, Bierce was known to encourage younger writers, including poet George Sterling and fiction writer W. C. Morrow. He is known for his distinctive style of writing, which his stories often share. This includes a cold open, use of dark imagery, vague references to time, limited description, war-themed pieces and use of impossible events.
In 1913, Bierce traveled to Mexico to gain a firsthand perspective on that country's ongoing revolution. While traveling with rebel troops, the elderly writer disappeared without a trace.
Text:wikipedia.com
Today is four days before the anniversary of the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo in 1914-- the event which led five weeks later to the outbreak of the "Great War" in Europe. I have a collection of bound "Illustrated London News" from 1912 through 1928 (with only a few volumes missing). On the week of the assassination, anyone predicting a war about to break out would probably have thought of Mexico and the United States. The cover of that week's issue showed General Pershing leading his troops crossing the Mexican border in pursuit of Pancho Villa.
An intriquing twist is that General Pershing was the commander of American forces in Europe after the United States entered the Great War, primarily because of the so-called Zimmermann Telegram (since proved to be a British forgery) which claimed that Germany offered to return Texas, New Mexico & Arizona to Mexico if Mexico would attack the United States, thereby preventing the U.S. from aiding the European allies in their war against the Central Powers.
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An intriquing twist is that General Pershing was the commander of American forces in Europe after the United States entered the Great War, primarily because of the so-called Zimmermann Telegram (since proved to be a British forgery) which claimed that Germany offered to return Texas, New Mexico & Arizona to Mexico if Mexico would attack the United States, thereby preventing the U.S. from aiding the European allies in their war against the Central Powers.
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