The Devil's Dictionary was begun in a weekly paper in 1881, and was continued in a desultory way at long intervals until 1906. In that year a large part of it was published in covers with the title The Cynic's Word Book, a name which the author had not the power to reject or happiness to approve. To quote the publishers of the present work: "This more reverent title had previously been forced upon him by the religious scruples of the last newspaper in which a part of the work had appeared, with the natural consequence that ...
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The Devil's Dictionary was begun in a weekly paper in 1881, and was continued in a desultory way at long intervals until 1906. In that year a large part of it was published in covers with the title The Cynic's Word Book, a name which the author had not the power to reject or happiness to approve. To quote the publishers of the present work: "This more reverent title had previously been forced upon him by the religious scruples of the last newspaper in which a part of the work had appeared, with the natural consequence that when it came out in covers the country already had been flooded by its imitators with a score of 'cynic' books - The Cynic's This, The Cynic's That, and The Cynic's t'Other. Most of these books were merely stupid, though some of them added the distinction of silliness.
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Written by a man very much involved in life and much offended by the crudity found therein. Never at a loss to respond to what conflicted his morality we find him humorous or extremely thoughtful, and thought provoking in his responses. An easy read that will stay with you.
Supakusan
Oct 2, 2008
HALF A LOAF - Is it really better?
This adaptation by Gahan Wilson is a disappointment. It represents no more than five percent of Bierce's work of the same name. I feel that Alibris should have more clearly indicated that this book is an adaptation. If they did, I missed it.