There are many authors throughout history whose influences and accomplishments have been overlooked. Ambrose Bierce is among them. Bierce, like Edgar Allan Poe before him, played an essential part in the development of the short story. He was also like Poe in that he was a master of "brevity in horror" (Kunitz 77). Although most people today only know of Bierce's fame as a short story writer because of stories like "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge", he was also known for his criticism and satire while he was alive.

Ambrose Gwinett Bierce was born in 1842 in Meigs County, Ohio. He was the tenth of thirteen children, and, according to Robert Wiggins, he "had no affection for any members of his family except Albert, his next older brother" (8). He enlisted in the Union army during the Civil War and became an officer. After the war, he moved to San...