The Red Badge of Courage

Published thirty years after the Civil War, this "impressionistic" American classic tells a war story in a thoroughly modern way - without a trace of romanticizing. Through the eyes of ordinary soldier Henry Fleming, we follow his psychological turmoil, from the excitement of patriotism to the bloody realities of battle and his flight from it. In the end, he overcomes his fear and disillusionment, and fights with courage.

Paul Sorrentino is Professor of English at Virginia Tech. He is the editor of The Correspondence of Stephen Crane and the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship for a forthcoming biography of Crane.