Henry Fleming, a private in the Union Army, runs away from the field of war. Afterwards, the shame he feels at this act of cowardice ignites his desire to receive an injury in combat a red badge of courage that will redeem him. Stephen Crane s novel about a young soldier s experiences during the American Civil War is well known for its understated naturalism and its realistic depiction of battle.
The Red Badge of Courage
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The Bookcassette® format is a special recording technique developed as a means of condensing the full, unabridged audio text of a book to record it on fewer tapes. In order to listen to these tapes, you will need a cassette player with balance control to adjust left/right speaker output. Special adaptors to allow these tapes to be played on any cassette player are available through the publisher or some US retail electronics stores.
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About the Author
Stephen Crane (1871 - 1900) was a war correspondent, novelist, short story writer and poet. He is the author of Maggie, The Red Badge of Courage, George's Mother and The Black Riders. Ernest Hemingway on The Red Badge of Courage: "One of the finest books of our literature…it is all as much of one piece as a great poem is."
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
87 of 89 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Unlike many others I was never required to read "The Red Badge of Courage" in High School. When I saw that it was among the many other classics that are now available for free on the Kindle I happily took the opportunity to read it; I am glad that I did.
There are plenty of reviews of the novel itself on the print version, so first a note about the Kindle Edition of this book: I found no typos or poor formatting of the text throughout the Kindle Edition, which is a nice change from many of the other free classics. The only problem with this edition is that the table of contents does not work. It looks as if it should, but it is apparently just a large image within the text file, instead of clickable links to the relevant sections of the book. This is not a big deal, but it is always nice to have a working table of contents for reference.
As for the story: The Red Badge of Courage tells the story of Henry, often referred to as the "Youth," and his transformation over the course of a few days. Considering the author never fought in a war, his reflections on the the way battles can change a person are truly insightful, and at times even breath-taking. Stephen Crane also had a talent for describing the world around Henry allowing the reader to feel as if they are in the novel. The book is quite short, but Crane does a great job developing Henry's character. As Henry goes from scared, to terrified, to arrogant, and eventually humble, you find yourself actively liking and disliking Henry through his transformation, as if you were there.
There are two particular literary devices Crane uses that I particularly enjoyed and make the novel poetic at times. First, almost all of the characters have both a name and them also a character description. For example, Henry is "the Youth," he has a friend "the loud youngster" and so on for all the main characters. This reinforces the idea that this is not just a book about a particular person or group of people, but about people in general. The second device is the way Crane uses common themes. So, the word red is used an adjective of the novel, just as it is in the title. Or, another example, Henry is walking through the woods that remind him of a chapel: from that moment there is a chorus, steeple, etc., used as adjectives and metaphors for the next few pages. This is truly poetic.
I am grateful that there are teams of volunteers that put this material together and release it for free for the Kindle. The Red Badge of Courage was a quick and entertaining read: if, like me, you did not have the chance to read it when you were younger I would certainly recommend it.
There are plenty of reviews of the novel itself on the print version, so first a note about the Kindle Edition of this book: I found no typos or poor formatting of the text throughout the Kindle Edition, which is a nice change from many of the other free classics. The only problem with this edition is that the table of contents does not work. It looks as if it should, but it is apparently just a large image within the text file, instead of clickable links to the relevant sections of the book. This is not a big deal, but it is always nice to have a working table of contents for reference.
As for the story: The Red Badge of Courage tells the story of Henry, often referred to as the "Youth," and his transformation over the course of a few days. Considering the author never fought in a war, his reflections on the the way battles can change a person are truly insightful, and at times even breath-taking. Stephen Crane also had a talent for describing the world around Henry allowing the reader to feel as if they are in the novel. The book is quite short, but Crane does a great job developing Henry's character. As Henry goes from scared, to terrified, to arrogant, and eventually humble, you find yourself actively liking and disliking Henry through his transformation, as if you were there.
There are two particular literary devices Crane uses that I particularly enjoyed and make the novel poetic at times. First, almost all of the characters have both a name and them also a character description. For example, Henry is "the Youth," he has a friend "the loud youngster" and so on for all the main characters. This reinforces the idea that this is not just a book about a particular person or group of people, but about people in general. The second device is the way Crane uses common themes. So, the word red is used an adjective of the novel, just as it is in the title. Or, another example, Henry is walking through the woods that remind him of a chapel: from that moment there is a chorus, steeple, etc., used as adjectives and metaphors for the next few pages. This is truly poetic.
I am grateful that there are teams of volunteers that put this material together and release it for free for the Kindle. The Red Badge of Courage was a quick and entertaining read: if, like me, you did not have the chance to read it when you were younger I would certainly recommend it.
40 of 42 people found the following review helpful
By M. J. Mooney
Format:Paperback
As a British reader, I just recently read and reviewed this book over on Amazon.co.uk, and I thought I'd have a look at the US reviews for comparison - and immediately realised that this is obviously a "set book" in US schools. I can see the logic - the book is about a young person, it's short and (superficially) exciting, with lots of action, and it has some good moral/ethical themes ripe for class discussion.
Nonetheless, I was not surprised to see a number of negative reviews from kids. I don't think I would have appreciated it as a 13 (or whatever) year old. The writing style (deliberately) reflects the state of mind of the protagonist - confused. This in NOT an "adventure" story, it's a blood-and-guts account of a dirty day in a dirty war. As such, it reminded me very much of some of the recent first-hand accounts of infantrymen in WWII, Korea, Vietnam or even Iraq. It's about the way the mind can obsess on tiny details in the middle of chaos - how sights, smells and sounds become almost hallucinogenic as the mind approaches breaking point. As such, it is astonishing.
But if you want a REAL adventure story (not suitable for the under-13s!) read a biography of Crane himself. Hemingway meets James Dean is the only way to describe it.
Nonetheless, I was not surprised to see a number of negative reviews from kids. I don't think I would have appreciated it as a 13 (or whatever) year old. The writing style (deliberately) reflects the state of mind of the protagonist - confused. This in NOT an "adventure" story, it's a blood-and-guts account of a dirty day in a dirty war. As such, it reminded me very much of some of the recent first-hand accounts of infantrymen in WWII, Korea, Vietnam or even Iraq. It's about the way the mind can obsess on tiny details in the middle of chaos - how sights, smells and sounds become almost hallucinogenic as the mind approaches breaking point. As such, it is astonishing.
But if you want a REAL adventure story (not suitable for the under-13s!) read a biography of Crane himself. Hemingway meets James Dean is the only way to describe it.
23 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Few books cause such a visceral reaction as The Red Badge of Courage. Every time I read it, I can't put it down and usually finish it in one sitting.
The writing is superb. The themes are deep. The descriptions of battles are uncanny (though--unbelievably--Craine never fought in War). The book draws you in so deep, you almost feel like you are fighting (or running) along side Henry.
It really makes you stop and consider what it means to be a man. Stands with the movie, All Quiet on the Western Front as one of the deepest and most accurate depictions of war.
The writing is superb. The themes are deep. The descriptions of battles are uncanny (though--unbelievably--Craine never fought in War). The book draws you in so deep, you almost feel like you are fighting (or running) along side Henry.
It really makes you stop and consider what it means to be a man. Stands with the movie, All Quiet on the Western Front as one of the deepest and most accurate depictions of war.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Red Badge of Courage
Excellent for its day but very dated.
Dialogue lengthy and made the reading difficult.
The descriptions of war were done with beautiful similes and metaphors. Read more
Dialogue lengthy and made the reading difficult.
The descriptions of war were done with beautiful similes and metaphors. Read more
Published 1 day ago by seahorse
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good book
I read this in class and if you are the type of person to like civil war books you'll love this one although I had a hard time understanding it.
Published 2 days ago by Shaneice Brown
4.0 out of 5 stars
AP Lang Review
Stephen Crane used a much different syntax that I am not used to reading. However, I liked it. He used diction of the time period which really set the opening chapter of the book. Read more
Published 4 days ago by Logan Campbell
5.0 out of 5 stars
classic!
Downloaded kindle to my PC. They have so many books to choose from. It's hard to choose which one to download and read next!
Published 5 days ago by C. Hale
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great War Novel
I read this in junior high school all those years ago, and it popped up on a list of books I'm currently working my way through. Read more
Published 9 days ago by Koby
1.0 out of 5 stars
A Classic?
Who ever chose this book as a classic is easily pleased. No real story line. Thought I should read this "classic." Sorry mistake
Published 9 days ago by DOCNCHG@aol.com
3.0 out of 5 stars
Slow Read
I was forced to read this for school. This isn't the sort of book I usually read, so perhaps this review is inaccurate for you. Read more
Published 14 days ago by Book Worm
5.0 out of 5 stars
Red badge of courage review
Red Badge of Courage Review
The book "Red Badge of courage is an excellent read and should be looked into by everyone. Read more
The book "Red Badge of courage is an excellent read and should be looked into by everyone. Read more
Published 16 days ago by JP
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thanks for making classics available!
I appreciate having access to this book at no charge! Thank you for this- love the dictionary feature and word search options.
Published 18 days ago by Monica Barnes
5.0 out of 5 stars
Epic
This American classic more than upholds its status as a literary masterpiece. Stephen Crane captures the horror of battle through the reflective eyes of the protagonist.
Published 18 days ago by Tyler M. Custer
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