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Stephen Cranewas born in 1871, in Newark, New Jersey. He attempted college twice, the second time failing a theme-writing course while writing articles for newspapers such as theNew York Tribune.In 1892 Crane moved to the poverty of New York City's Lower East Side-the Bowery so vividly depicted inMaggie- A Girl of the Streets. In 1894 the serial publication began ofThe Red Badge of Courage,his acclaimed and widely popular novel of a young soldier's coming of age in the Civil War. He died in Germany at the age of twenty-eight,in June of 1900. Shelby Foote was an American historian and novelist. He was born on November 7, 1916, in Greenville, Mississippi, and attended school there until he entered the University of North Carolina. During World War II he served as a captain of field artillery but never saw combat. After World War II he worked briefly for the Associated Press in their New York bureau. In 1953 he moved to Memphis, where he lived for the remainder of his life.Foote was the author of six novels-Tournament,Follow Me Down,Love in a Dry Season,Shiloh,Jordan County, andSeptember, September. He is best remembered for his 3-volume historyThe Civil War- A Narrative, which took twenty years to complete and resulted in his being a featured expert in Ken Burns' acclaimed PBS documentary, The Civil War. Over the course of his writing career, Foote was also awarded three Guggenheim fellowships.Shelby Foote died in 2005 at the age of 88.
War in the mid 19th century: glorify it ('Charge of the Light Brigade') or depict the reality of the fear, the pride and the comradeship. Crane did not see any action during the American Civil War; neither did Erich Maria Remarque, author of All Quiet on the Western Front, which took its title from a Civil War report that all was quiet on the Potomac. Both authors have been held up as representing the best of the literature of their time and genre, and with good reason. Crane wanted his book to be a 'psychological portrayal of fear', yet it does so much more. It brings the basic emotions down to a level that anyone - combatants and civilians alike - can understand. There have been several editions of The Red Badge of Courage during the last ten years. This release contains a powerful introduction and glowing reviews (George Wyndham, then the British under Secretary State of War, HG Wells, Theodore Dreiser, Joseph Conrad and Ernest Hemingway). It also includes a brief short story 'The Veteran', about the same character as that in Red Badge, now in his later years, dying as he attempts to rescue his horses from a barn fire. Red Badge follows the actions of a young soldier, untried in battle. About to see action, he reflects on whether he will run from the fighting. Although, determined not to run, he actually does. Lost, he mixes in with wounded soldiers, witnesses a wounded friend die, and is hit on the head by a fellow soldier (the wound is his 'red badge of courage'). Finding his way back to his regiment, his comrades believe he has actually been wounded. The next day the regiment are in action, the youth leads a charge and rallies the men with the flag. Later they beat off a Confederate attack and the regiment retire, weary but unbowed. The youth has survived his rite of passage and become a man. The earlier cowardice has been suppressed and, he feels, more than made up for. Crane's writing lacks the polish of Bernard Cornwell's 'Rebel' series, or the epic might of Tom Wicker's Unto this Hour. Search out Mother May You Never See The Sights I have Seen (edited by Warren Wilkinson, the regimental history of the 57th Massachusetts Veteran Volunteers), or Wiley's The Life of Johnny Reb, if you want to read about the realism of the fighting. Then come back to Crane and understand what he set out to achieve; to portray how one man, unable to suppress his fear of battle, fled, returned, conquered his fear and showed bravery beyond the call of duty. A classic that ranks beside All Quiet on the Western Front (and perhaps Johnny's got his Gun by Dalton Trumbo), and despite its literary faults, the power held within the pages stands the test of time. (Kirkus UK)
