Historically famous critics

Ambrose Bierce

1842-1914 · American · 19th century

Caustic journalist and story writer whose cynical wit exposed hypocrisy and cant

Bierce turned the bitterness of a Civil War veteran into a career of merciless satire, earning the nickname the wickedest man in San Francisco for columns that flayed dishonest politicians, clergymen, and frauds of every kind. His Devil’s Dictionary redefined ordinary words to reveal the greed, vanity, and self-deception hidden inside respectable society. He belongs in a hall of fame of criticism because he showed that a definition could be a scalpel, using dark irony to strip comforting illusions from war, religion, and public life.