Product Description

With an Introduction by Richard Jenseth, St Lawrence University, "The Red Badge of Courage" is one of the greatest war novels of all time. It reports on the American Civil War through the eyes of Henry Fleming, an ordinary farm boy turned soldier. It evokes the chaos and the dull clatter of war: the acrid smoke, the incessant rumours of coming battles, the filth and cold, the numbing monotony, the unworldly wailing of the dying. Like an impressionist painter, Crane also captures the strange beauty of war: the brilliant red flags against a blue sky, steel bayonets flashing in the morning sun as soldiers step off into battle. In the midst of this chaotic outer world, he creates an intricate inner world as he takes us inside the head of Henry Fleming.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #744393 in Books
• Published on: 1998-04
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 8.00" h x 5.25" w x .25" l, .19 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 118 pages

From Library Journal
Like the Carroll volume above, this edition of the seasoned veteran provides a new twist. Crane's Badge was originally serialized in the New York Press in 1894, a year before the story was published in novel form. This volume offers both the slightly different serial version and the finished work. Though every library no doubt has numerous copies of Red Badge, academic and public libraries supporting American literature curricula should pop for this one, too, especially at the price.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
Crane's classic story of Henry Fleming's rite of passage in the Civil War is superbly narrated by Walter Lewis. His voice is extremely versatile and expressive. Although Henry and the men of his regiment are from New York, Lewis's Midwestern accent ably conveys the rural character of the personalities in the work. The narration is done just as well; when hearing of the panic of Henry's regiment at the second Confederate assault, one can sense the terror that can so quickly seize and carry away men in battle. There is music interspersed in the action, usually to indicate chapter or side breaks. The effect is mixed. Some listeners (as well as this reviewer) may expect music from the period, martial or popular, rather than the orchestral pieces presented. The cover notes, for the most part, are equal to the performance. M.T.F. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Review
"The Red Badge Of Courage has long been considered the first great 'modern' novel of war by an American—the first novel of literary distinction to present war without heroics and this in a spirit of total irony and skepticism."—Alfred Kazin


From the Paperback edition.