Stephen Cranersquo;s weirdly impressionistic The Red Badge of Courage is one of the first non-romantic novels of the Civil Warmdash;and the first nonshy;romantic account to gain wide popularity. Paul Sorrentino introduces Red Badge to a new generation of readers for a fuller appreciation of the novel and its effects. He has selected as his text the first edition, published by D. Appleton Co. in 1895.