History: An account, mostly false, of events, mostly unimportant, which are brought about by rulers, mostly knaves, and soldiers, mostly fools. —Ambrose Bierce (1842–1913?) Bierce was a writer and a journalist. His lyrical and almost mystical short story, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, has been filmed several times and is highly respected. For a long time he wrote a newspaper column that ran cynical social commentary. The column was titled The Devil's Dictionary, and many compilations have been published with that name, often ending up incorrectly in the occult section of bookstores. Personally, I prefer his cynical and humorous view to the better known (but just as cynical)