Ambrose Bierce: journalist, veteran, legend, was as familiar with death as could be a writer of his time. Whether consulting tribulations experienced in the American Civil War, or pulling onto pages tales of ghosts and murder, the short story master and acclaimed satirist blazed a trail for writers of the macabre. Here, and perhaps for the first time made clear, the link between his veteranhood and his dark themes explored, the glory and the gory, is laid to bare.