The devil's dictionary
(Book)

Regarded as one of the most influential American journalists of the late 19th and early 20th century, Ambrose Bierce was the Civil War veteran who was best known for his stories of the American Civil War and for his satirical witticisms. Written over several decades "The Devil's Dictionary" is the ultimate collection of his lexicon of satirical definitions. Bierce's earliest known definition was first published in 1867. Over the next several decades he would add numerous definitions to his satirical essays, in his weekly columns "The Town Crier" and "Prattle", and in his personal letters. These definitions were first collected in book form in 1906 as "The Cynic's Word Book" and later expanded as "The Devil's Dictionary" in 1911. Not a real dictionary, but rather a lampoon of the English language, "The Devil's Dictionary" provides satirical, witty and often politically pointed representations of the words that it seeks to "define". Regarded by the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration as one of "The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature", "The Devil's Dictionary" is a unique masterpiece of cynical wit. This edition includes a biographical afterword.