I love the civil war suspense and theme of this book.

We're all cowards, but we're all heroes. In the midst of war, men and women find themselves. The public accolades will never triumph over personal demons.

Stephen Crane’s tale of a young man entering and serving in the Civil War was an intellectual bore. It seemed that Crane tried to write a war story in the point of view from a young man in search of his call, but the whole point of the book is lost in trying to sound too poetic. This was a disappointing read.

I last read this 60 (!) years ago. I did not care for it then, largely because I did not understand it. It seemed much different—and much, much better—this time around. I recall reading somewhere that the author wrote the book as a way of experiencing what happened, “what it must have been like”. He succeeded brilliantly. I will read and reread this novel again, between the books of Civil War history I consume.

Good book