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In the Midst of Life; Tales of Soldiers & Civilians
Ambrose Bierce (1842 - 1914)

These stories detail the lives of soldiers and civilians during the American Civil War. This is the 1909 edition. The 1909 edition omits six stories from the original 1891 edition; these six stories are added to this LibriVox recording (from an undated English edition). The 1891 edition is entitled In The Midst Of Life; Tales Of Soldiers And Civilians. The Wikipedia entry for the book uses the title Tales of Soldiers and Civilians.

Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842 – after December 26, 1913) was an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist and satirist. Today, he is best known for his short story, "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" and his satirical lexicon, The Devil's Dictionary. The sardonic view of human nature that informed his work – along with his vehemence as a critic, with his motto "nothing matters" – earned him the nickname "Bitter Bierce." Despite his reputation as a searing critic, however, Bierce was known to encourage younger writers, including poet George Sterling and fiction writer W. C. Morrow. Bierce employed a distinctive style of writing, especially in his stories. This style often embraces an abrupt beginning, dark imagery, vague references to time, limited descriptions, the theme of war, and impossible events. In 1913, Bierce traveled to Mexico to gain a first-hand perspective on that country's ongoing revolution. While traveling with rebel troops, the elderly writer disappeared without a trace. Since the book is a compilation of short stories, there is not an overarching plot. However, there are literary elements, or plot devices, that are shared throughout. Bierce's stories often begin mid-plot, with relevant details withheld until the end, where the dramatic resolution unfolds differently than expected, to a degree where most are considered twist endings. His characters were described by George Sterling as: "His heroes, or rather victims, are lonely men, passing to unpredictable dooms, and hearing, from inaccessible crypts of space, the voices of unseen malevolencies."... Bierce served as a union soldier during the Civil War and his experiences as a soldier served as an inspiration for his writing, particularly for the Soldiers section. In this way, Bierce's war treatments anticipate and parallel Ernest Hemingway's later arrival, whereas the civilian tales later influence horror writers. (Summary by Wikipedia and David Wales)

Read by David Wales

Run Time 11 Hours 11 Minutes in 10 Audio CDs

Section ---- Chapter ---- Run Time
1 01 The Suitable Surroundings - 20:57
2 02 A Tough Tussle - 23:13
3 03 An Inhabitant Of Carcosa - 12:28
4 04 The Middle Toe Of The Right Foot - 24:57
5 05 Haita The Shepherd - 16:09
6 06 A Horseman In The Sky - 18:52
7 07 An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge - 28:56
8 08 Chickamauga - 20:08
9 09 A Son Of The God; Study In The Present Tense - 21:05
10 10 One Of The Missing - 35:36
11 11 Killed At Resaca - 18:10
12 12 The Affair At Coulter's Notch - 24:43
13 13 The Coup De Grace - 16:41
14 14 Parker Adderson, Philosopher - 18:29
15 15 An Affair Of Outposts - 28:00
16 16 The Story Of A Conscience - 18:53
17 17 One Kind Of Officer - 27:38
18 18 One Officer, One Man - 18:36
19 19 George Thurston - 14:39
20 20 The Mocking-Bird - 18:52
21 21 The Man Out Of The Nose - 22:17
22 22 An Adventure At Brownville - 29:48
23 23 The Famous Gilson Bequest - 23:59
24 24 The Applicant - 14:27
25 25 A Watcher By The Dead - 29:39
26 26 The Man And The Snake - 19:59
27 27 A Holy Terror - 40:54
28 28 The Boarded Window - 14:35
29 29 A Lady From Redhorse - 19:12
30 30 The Eyes Of the Panther - 29:08

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Public Domain Books

A public-domain book is a book with no copyright, a book that was created without a license, or a book where its copyrights expired or have been forfeited.

In most countries the of copyright expires on the first day of January, 70 years after the death of the latest living author. The longest copyright term is in Mexico, which has life plus 100 years for all deaths since July 1928.

A notable exception is the United States, where every book and tale published before 1926 is in the public domain; American copyrights last for 95 years for books originally published between 1925 and 1978 if the copyright was properly registered and maintained.