Crane's The Red Badge of Courage is probably the first and possibly the best ever narrative of war/combat as seen through the narrow confines of the utterly ordinary soldier. Although it covers just a days' experiences of battle in the American Civil War it could be transplanted to and resonate to some extent in any era's conflict. Crane paints in words the layers of awful confusion, fear, hope, panic, agony of man at war. He does so with a simplicity of style making each scenario all the more accessible and the humanity on display all the more tragic for its attempts to make sense of the inescapable kill-or-be-killed mentality that is the core of war no matter how politicians, officers, blowhards and many authors try to disguise it as something else. ( )

This book includes five works by Stephen Crane: The Red Bage of Courage, The Open Boat, The Blue Hotel, The Upturned Face, and The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky.