Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (1842-1914) was the tenth of thirteen children. He ran away from home at the age of 15, took part in the Civil War on the Union side and distinguished himself by bravery. He became famous as a journalist. Besides his sarcastic work The Devil's Dictionary (1906), Bierce's recognition is based primarily on two anthologies: Tales of Soldiers and Civilians (1892) and Can Such Things Be? (1893). At the age of 70, Bierce took a trip to Mexico, in the midst of the revolution, where his trail was lost forever in the wake of Pancho Villa.