Think of him as the forgotten brother of Mark Twain. Both had remarkably similar lives, were good friends, and lived in San Francisco around the same time. Bierce, however, followed a different path than Twain. While both had similar humor, and were equals in their genius, Bierce clearly was the better when it came to wit. Public figures quaked in fear of his satirical pen, and newspapers sales soared when he was published. Over the years, many of his jabs at the establishment appeared in local newspapers and were later collected into The Devil's Dictionary, one of the greatest works of satire of the 19th century.

 

 

 

 


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