Ambrose Bierce
Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (1842-1914-ish) was an American author, poet, journalist, and Civil War veteran. A prolific and versatile writer, he was regarded as one of the most influential journalists in the United States and - infusing his stories with his brutal and absurd wartime experiences - became a pioneer of realist fiction. One of his most famous short stories, 'An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,' is a deceptively simple tale that opens on a man about to be hanged, then quietly unravels everything you think you know about time, perception, and reality as the story slips between the savage clarity of execution and the strange, almost dreamlike possibility of escape. With cold precision and dark wit, Bierce explores consciousness at the edge of oblivion and asks how far can thoughts of freedom carry a man when his body is already falling?
