Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce, a recognized master of American prose, a participant in the fateful events taking place in the United States, a journalist, writer, author of “scary” mystical stories that bring horror to the very limit, was a bright, unique personality. On the battlefield, in ordinary life, in articles, in fiction, he was sharp and straightforward, for which he earned the nickname Merciless Bierce. The writer fought in the ranks of the northerners, but in his works he does not express preference for any of the warring parties. With disarming directness and shocking truth, he creates a devastatingly bright picture of the war, tinged with a mystical fog, with its cruelty, devastation, loss of life and reckless, sometimes absurd courage.