The Red Badge of Courage

"There was a blare of heated rage mingled with a certain expression of intentness on all faces. Many of the men were making low-toned noises with their mouths, and these subdued cheers, snarls, imprecation, prayers, make a wild, barbaric song that went as an undercurrent of sound, strange chantlike with the resounding chords of the war march." Stephen Crane describes, in sound, the complex mix of emotions and thoughts that swim in the mind of enlisted soldier Henry Fleming during his first battle in the American Civil War. In his character, Crane pits intellectual reason against rage, pride, doubt, admiration, disgust, and isolation. This is the classic novel of a young soldier's experience. Click here to read more about The Red Badge of Courage.

The Penguin Book of First World War Poetry

When total destruction is imminent and fear and horror prevail, we often see and feel more clearly. We are starkly aware of the things we cherish, value, dream of, and despise. The Penguin Book of First World War Poetry is a comprehensive volume that brings together the distilled, essential images and words that capture so many facets of war. Some of the voices included here will be familiar to you, others new. All will touch and change you. Click here for more details about The Penguin Book of First World War Poetry.

Homage to Catalonia

In his cool-headed journalist's style, George Orwell provides a clear and detailed account of the Spanish Civil War, which he experienced first hand. It is his simplicity of language and elegant use of detail that shock the reader and portray the true suffering of combat and the dangerous ideological imbalances that drive it. Read more about Homage to Catalonia,Orwell's brutally honest portrait of civil war.

Under Fire

New to Penguin Classics this month is an English translation of Le Feu (Under Fire) by French journalist Henri Barbusse. This novel, based on Barbusse's experience in the trenches of The Great War, won the prestigious Prix Goncourt for French Literary Fiction in 1916. Vivid character development, dark lyrical description, and a thin ray of hope sparkling under the surface set this novel apart from other wartime fiction. Click here to find out more.