Stephen Crane's 1895 Civil War novel The Red Badge of Courage realistically depicts the psychological complexities of fear and courage on the battlefield.

In his essay "The Moon Letters" (1903), Bierce discusses his theories on the responsibilities of readers and writers.

Edgar Allan Poe's 1842 short story "The Pit and the Pendulum" is told in the first person by a prisoner of the Spanish Inquisition who relates his experiences with imprisonment and torture.

The Old Gringo, a novel by Carlos Fuentes, is an imaginary account of what happened to Bierce after he disappeared in Mexico in 1913.

In his 1865 poetry collection Drum-Taps, which contains such famous poems as "O Captain! My Captain!" and "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd," American poet Walt Whitman relates his experiences in the Civil War.

P.M.H. Atwater's 1995 book Beyond the Light examines the physical and psychological...