What I Saw at Shiloh: new annotated edition, Paperback

Ambrose Bierce wrote realistically of the terrible things he had seen in the war in such stories as "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge", "A Horseman in the Sky", "One of the Missing", "What I Saw at Shiloh" and "Chickamauga". His grimly realistic cycle of 25 war stories has been called "the greatest anti-war document in American literature". At Shiloh, Bierce was a sergeant in C Company of the 9th Indiana in General Buell's army. "What I Saw of Shiloh", written in 1874 and twice revised in the following 35 years, is a recollection of his experience of the battle. Some scholars think "What I Saw of Shiloh" is Bierce's best work.

Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842 - circa 1914) was an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist, and satirist. His vehemence as a critic, his motto "Nothing matters", and the sardonic view of human nature that informed his work, all earned him the nickname "Bitter Bierce". Despite his reputation as a searing critic, Bierce was known to encourage younger writers, including the poets George Sterling and Herman George Scheffauer and the fiction writer W. C. Morrow. Bierce employed a distinctive style of writing, especially in his stories. His style often embraces an abrupt beginning, dark imagery, vague references to time, limited descriptions, impossible events, and the theme of war. In 1913, Bierce traveled to Mexico to gain first-hand experience of the Mexican Revolution. He was rumored to be traveling with rebel troops, and was not seen again.