The Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane
The Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane
23 Rating(s)
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The Red Badge of Courage
An Episode of the American Civil War

Author: Stephen Crane

Narrator: John Rayburn

Unabridged: 4 hr 51 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/13/2021

Synopsis

A teenager with dreams of glory enlisted with the Union army in the American Civil War. With not much in the way of immediate action, Henry Fleming began to have doubt and fear while waiting.The author, Stephen Crane, was only twenty-five years old himself, and although he had no personal experience he was able to give vivid descriptions that created suspense. It was a distinctive and naturalistic presentation that emphasized the true nature of war. Young Fleming eventually experienced his first battle and was caught up in fear unlike anything he had anticipated; no longer a case of “vague and bloody conflicts,” but a frightening reality. He displayed some early cowardice in running backwards from a battle. He saw first-hand the cursing and groaning of wounded men, was wounded himself, and witnessed the death of a close friend. He was ashamed of his early reaction but recovered his bravery and helped lead government forces back into battle to indeed win his “red badge of courage.” Listen now to the heart-rending story.

About Stephen Crane

Stephen Crane (1871–1900) was an American novelist, poet, and journalist. He worked as a reporter of slum life in New York and a highly paid war correspondent for newspaper tycoons William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer. He wrote many works of fiction, poems, and accounts of war, all well received but none as acclaimed as his 1895 Civil War novel, The Red Badge of Courage. Today he is considered one of the most innovative American writers of the 1890s and one of the founders of literary realism.

About John Rayburn

John Rayburn is a veteran of over sixty years in broadcasting. He served as a news/sports anchor and show host, and his TV newscast achieved the largest share of audience figures of any major-market TV newscast in the nation. John is a member of the Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame. He is well suited to bring fascinating stories to life concerning the people, places, and things that combine to present lively observations of our day-to-day lives.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Emily on November 29, 2008

I feel almost guilty about how much I disliked this book. I know it's an important piece of literature, that it changed the way people viewed war, it's an American classic, etc. etc. But I could NOT stand it. I thought it was boring and I didn't really care what happened to the main character. I was......more

Goodreads review by Henry on April 16, 2024

The Battle of Chancellorsville in northern Virginia 1863 is one of the bloodiest 24,000 casualties of the war between the states, the focus of this novel. Henry Fleming a naive restless farm boy not yet a man from New York State, goes off to fight during the American Civil War. Against the tearful p......more

Goodreads review by Thomas on November 01, 2014

2.5 stars Intellectual Thomas thinks this story changed people's perception of war and made them think about the individual psychological processes involved in combat. He thinks that this book had a nice flow of thought that concluded with the narrator learning to be less whiny. Thomas Thomas - the co......more

Goodreads review by Charles on September 30, 2022

An odd book One of my partners in investigations was a retired general. Erudite, wise, knowledgeable about many things, he hated this little book. Called it a celebration of cowardice. I can see his point but in the end the youth, Henry I believe he was called, is at least partially redeemed, though......more

Goodreads review by Jon on September 18, 2024

Read this book right before I went into the US Army; helped me focus and understand that courage can take different forms at different times. If you know a young man/woman entering the military may I suggest this book for them - they will thank you and remember the lessons that were learned from thi......more

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