The Red Badge of Courage

Anthony Heald does a superb job performing Stephen Crane's 1895 book, which has been called the first modern novel about war. The novel tells the story of Henry Fleming, but at times scenes employ a montage of brief comments by fellow soldiers to suggest the feelings of the infantry as a whole. Heald is especially good at rendering these snippets and interjections without a loss of clarity. His energetic pacing and varied intonations bring out the drama and the immediacy of battle. Such an approach remains true to the realism of the book. People who have relegated this novel to the tenth grade should experience Heald's reading. He brings Crane to life. G.H. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine


Among the classic war novels, THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE ranks with the best. Its setting is the Civil War; its hero of sorts is young recruit ("fresh fish") Henry Fleming; and its plot focuses on the boredom, fear, cowardice, and bravery that Henry faces as best he can, often more instinctively than intellectually. Reader Scott Brick is fine. He has a storyteller's interest in Henry and the other soldiers, particularly the tall soldier and the loud soldier who wield such an influence on Henry. Brick's best at the matter-of-fact leave-taking between the eager to fight Henry and his reluctant mother and, later, in the battle scenes, in which the tempo quickens. Stephen Crane would be pleased with this rendition of his enduring work. T.H. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine