Customer Reviews (9)

The Authority on Stephen Crane's Life
This text, a thorough listing of dates and events pivotal in the life of American author Stephen Crane, is the most comprehensive and uncorrupted catalog of the author. It is far better than the biographies available on Crane, since all of them rely at least in part on Stephen Crane biography by Thomas Beer. Beer, a friend of Crane, seems to have made up quite a bit of information about the author and may have attributed to Crane events in his own life. Other biographies, such as the ones written by Berryman and Stallman, use Beer's suspect biography as an authority in completing their own. On the other hand, 'The Crane Log' goes straight to the original documentation on Crane's life to compile a chronology of the man and the author. Though not narrative in form, is it exhaustive in data.

More fiction than fact
It seems to me that much of this material is made up by the author. I could not understand how private facts of Crane's life would be known in this way. I find this book very disturbing because of this. I think Craneis a great author but this book did not help me understand his work at all.

Finally a trustworthy biography of Crane
The Crane Log is a wonderful book which I have been reading over the past few days.I am surprised by the many underserved poor reviews this bookhas gotten.It must be stressed that this is a reference work, and onethat is probably best read in snatches, and not in chronological order. includes day by day accounts, including fascinating liberal excerpts frommemoirs of the people who knew him that allows you to form your ownconception of Crane as he lived.For the first time we have a biographicalwork of Crane that is free of the fictions of Crane's first biographer,Thomas Beer.That is not something to grouse about.

Not Helpful...Except to go to Sleep
Stephen Crane wrote some great books and lead a fascinating life, but this day to day rehash of every trivial detail with none of the excitement of this great author's life is terrible! This book does a disservice to Craneand his memory...confusing, loooong, and boring.

The Only accurate Crane biography
This documentary life of Stephen Crane is the ony book that attempts to locate persons and events in Stephen Crane's literary career accurately and objectively, avoiding the apocryphal stories and thesis-riddeninterpretations that have plagued Crane biography. A must for anyone withan interest in this important American author. ... Read more

Book Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document, covering the life and work of Stephen (Townley) Crane, is an entry from Contemporary Authors, a reference volume published by Thompson Gale. The length of the entry is 3743 words. The page length listed above is based on a typical 300-word page. Although the exact content of each entry from this volume can vary, typical entries include the following information:

• Place and date of birth and death (if deceased)
• Family members
• Education
• Professional associations and honors
• Employment
• Writings, including books and periodicals
• A description of the author's work
• References to further readings about the author

Book Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Book Description
This is the most penetrating study available about the life and specifically the writing of Stephen Crane. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The sun was pasted in the sky like a wafer
John Berryman ( Dreamsongs) was one of America's finest poets. He began as a literary critic and this thorough work on the life of Cranecontains both a solid biography and considerable literary criticism of Crane's work.
He writes of Crane as a young , rebelious genius, who had his own way of seeing things. He traces in detail the journalistic career of Crane which led him not simply to the Bowery and East Side, but to battlefieds in Greece and Cuba. He analyzes to a degree Crane's masterpiece ' The Red Badge of Courage' Here is his brief description of the work. "The Red Badge of Courage is the story of the mind of a new young Northern soldier as it accustoms itself to war during two days in and out of his first battle. There is a preliminary debate within himself as to whether he will run away or not. When his regiment is charged a second time, hye does, and hides resentfully in a wood, where he meeta a rotting corpse in a chapellike place. He joins the march of wounded away from the battle and comes on a friend hurt horribly, a tall soldier, whom he accompanies to his extraordinary death.A tattered man has befriended him on the march, this man, whose plight is very bad, his mind wandering, the youth deserts in shame, on the question reiterated, of where he is wounded. Then in a flight of the troops he is clubbed with a rifle when he tries to ask a panic- stricken man a question. An unseen man finally helps him back to his regiment.Since it has got scattered during the battle his shame is unknown:he says he was shot and is cared for by a friend, a loud youth who bandages his bloody head.He sleeps. Next morning he feels no remorsek and is full of "self-pride" even, when the loud youth reluctantly and shamefacedly has to ask for the return of a packet of papers given the youth in fear, before the battle."He had been possessed of much fear of his friend, for he saw how easily questionings could make holes in his feelings." Now "his heart grew more strong and stut.He had never been compelled to blush in such a manner for his acts' he was an individual of extraordinary virtues." In the battle of this second day he is a war devil.During the charge, when the color- bearer is killed, he wrenches the flag free and bears it. In hard new fighting he and the loud youth are commended. The regiment takes a fence and a flag, and rests. "He had been to touch the great death and found, that after all, it was but the great death . He was a a man ...Scars faded as flowers"
One of the great praises of 'The Red Badge of Courage' is how Crane who had never experienced war, managed to write of it more realistically than so many who it had. This ' ironic realism' of Crane, this daring way of seeing and imagining reality were distinctive of his genius.
This is a very good book. And it also contains Berryman's critical readings of Crane's quite strange and wholly unique poetry.

Milestone in Crane Studies
Now going on 60 years old, this was poet Berryman's doctoral thesis.It remains a milestone study on Crane, and in American literature studies generally for its acute insights.It stands up quite well to most Crane studies since; though more "facts" have emerged, they do not greatly alter the essential portrait.A good complement to Berryman's book is Robert Stallman's, which sets Crane in the context of his fantastic end-of-a-century day.But to get at the core of the creative genius it really takes another, and while some of Berryman's views are still controversial, there can be little arguing with most of it.

Crane wrote two short novel masterpieces, Maggie and the Red Badge, and several of the best stories in modern English to date in a short span of about 8 years.Berryman deftly mixes biography with literary criticism of these works in a sound scholarly way unfortunately no longer fashionable.His bow to the ethos of his own times is a Freudian chapter at the end, which you can take or mostly leave.Its placement is simultaneously shrewd and cynical; an obvious bow to Berryman's teachers' demands, but to any other reader as detatchable as a coupon.It therefore does not mar the otherwise deep meditation on this mercurial personality, who Berryman characterizes as a "volcanic" natural talent from whom words flowed like lava. Berryman believes Crane was likely to have dwarfed most other American novelists had he lived and produced beyond his mere 30 years.While such speculations are often a distraction, his affinity with Crane turns them into a compelling meditation on where American literature was shortly to go:to World War I and Paris.

Berryman, even without his subsequent poetic output, was an important critic, and this book also serves as the proper starting point to his own double career.Work on Crane still needed to be defended when Berryman wrote in 1950 -- he has lasted 50 years since his writing, Berryman pronounces, setting a yardstick and defense.Now, ironically, his own fine book has met the same test of time. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

The Definitive Edition
This is the definitive edition of Crane's correspondence and almost doubles the number of known Crane letters since the Stallman and Gilkes edition appeared in 1960. The sectional introductions constitute a short Stephen Crane biography. The footnores are concise and informative.

The Definitive Edition
Like all important university press books, this definitive edition of Crane's correspondence is expensive, but it almost doubles the number of known Crane letters since the 1960 edition edited by Stallman and Gilkes. The introductions to the various sections constitute a short and authoritative Crane biography. The footnotes are economical and to the point.

Very Expensive
This book has important information, but I do not think it is worth the money. The letters are published in other places and Mr. Wertheim does not make useful cojmments to help understand the content.

A Remarkable Amount of Attention
Isn't it remarkable that an edition of the correspondence of a relatively minor American author published by a university press almost fifteen years ago, directed primarily towrd a readership in academic libraries, and long out of print continues to receive such concerened reviews? Does someone out there have an agenda? Is it perhaps time to get a life?

The real Stephen Crane
What better way to understand Stephen Crane than to hear him in his own words?This authoritative edition presents Crane's words in the context of recent scholarship that has shown the flaws in Thomas Beer's fictionalized biography of Crane. The letters that cannot be authenticated because no known copies exist (and because they may have been fabricated) are placed in a separate section with appropriate explanations. ... Read more

Book Description
Henry Fleming, a raw Union Army recruit in the American Civil War, is anxious to confirm his patriotism and manhood—to earn his “badge of courage.” But his dreams of heroism and invulnerability are soon shattered when he flees the Confederate enemy during his baptism of fire and then witnesses the horrible death of a friend. Plunged unwillingly into the nightmare of war, Fleming survives by sheer luck and instinct. This edition of Stephen Crane’s poignant classic is supplemented by five of his acclaimed short stories as well as selected poetry, offering the full range of this great American author’s extraordinary talent. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

two lives
This is a great book for fans of Crane but remains a thesis: S. Crane had 2 lives, first he wrote then he lived.
Benfey does a good job, but sometimes one can't help but think that this biography is «his» thoughts on Crane and he has a number of theories (interesting ones, nonetheless).
Benfey doesn't like Thomas Beer's biography (filled with mistakes and pure invention) and states it so many times it's annoying...
The one thing that I really don't like much is the assumption that Crane planned the «Dora Clark» affair which caused him so much trouble. Benfey seems to forget that it almost ruined Crane's literary career.
Benfey also defends that the Commodore shipwreck was, in a lot of ways, «planned» by Crane! Well... maybe.
This being a weird exception, the text analysis is insightful, the views are based on a lot of research and Benfey does an important thing: He tells us when there is lack of data (something other biographers don't do).
The concept of a double life is also an interesting approach.
At the beginning, Benfey writes that Crane is much more complex than he seems, and he explains why (especially in regard to the relationship with his parents.)
If you're new to Crane, I would recommend James B. Colvert bio, which is more straight to the point and short. I would say that Linda Davis «Badge of Courage» is a more balanced biography, but this «double life» is, without any doubt, an interesting book to understand a bit more about Crane's mental processes. Even when it's pure speculation.

... Read more

Amazon.com
Stephen Crane "was an explosion of color in a gray age," writes his biographer Linda H. Davis in a well-turned phrase typical of the acuity and aplomb displayed throughout her perceptive examination of his short (1871-1900), dramatic life. Crane was only 23 when the serial newspaper publication of The Red Badge of Courage made him famous, yet he had already developed the artistic credo that blew fresh air into the stale atmosphere of Victorian American literature. "Art is not a pulpit," this son of a Methodist minister wrote in 1893, commenting on his controversial first novel, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets. Like his friend Joseph Conrad, Crane believed that fiction should tell the truth about human beings' behavior and motives; understanding, rather than judgment, was his goal. His own standards were casually bohemian, as Davis shows in her vigorous chronicle of his numerous love affairs, his gallant defense of a woman unjustly accused of soliciting that gained him the enmity of New York City Police Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt, a nasty lawsuit with a former lover, and a common-law marriage to a woman who ran a brothel in Florida. On the literary front, the biographer sifts out Crane's finest stories and journalism from the large amount of hackwork he cranked out for money--of which he never had enough. Davis's appreciative commentary will send readers back to Crane's fiction; her perceptive evaluation of his personality inspires renewed interest in the man who wrote it. --Wendy SmithBook Description
World famous at twenty-four, dead at twenty-eight, brilliant, reckless, and ultimately tragic--Stephen Crane is a dramatic study in contradictions. His most famous work, THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE, is a classic antiwar novel. Yet Crane longed for military honors of his own and pursued a career as a war correspondent that took him to battlefields in Greece and Cuba. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

a heartfelt, thorough treatment of a fascinating life
Badge of Courage by Linda H. Davis has been an excellent companion of mine in recent days.This is a terrific book that brings to life a Stephen Crane I never knew.He lived his short, dramatic life as bravely andactively as can be imagined.Davis re-creates it all in a vivid,enthralling book that reveals a deep affection for a worthy subject.Shealso reveals a direct, effective style that adds wonderfully to somealready wonderful material.I cannot overstate how much I value this book.

an excellent chronicle, an enthralling read
I went into Badge of Courage with little knowledge of Crane other than a distant memory of my reading his works in high school.This biography brought him back to life for me and involved me from the beginning.Thelife was short but complex, and at times conducted in secret; Davis conveysit all with full, affectionate treatment yet effective economy and punch. I feel as if Stephen Crane has been an enthralling companion in recentdays. This feeling is due not only to the drama of the life itself but alsoto Linda Davis' insightful, compelling presentation of it.

Biographies don't get any better than this.
I admit to bias, because I was involved in the research for this book. Nevertheless, Linda Davis has achieved what any good biographer strives todo but few accomplish: she has brought her subject back to life.This isno small feat in the case of Stephen Crane, who has fundamentally eludedall previous biographers, including the poet John Berryman and the detailedbut impossible-to-read Stallman.Crane led an adventure-filled life, andwas a wonderful and colorful character, as well as a brilliant, pioneeringwriter.Linda Davis, too, is brilliant, as a biographer; and she's a fine,sometimes breathtakingly good writer.If you read only one biography thisyear, make it this one.(By the way, Davis was right about Crane beingburied in Elizabeth, NJ; it WAS Elizabeth back then.) ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (2)

Stephen Crane also wrote seven short Civil War stories
Stephen Crane is best known, of course, for his remarkable short novel, The Red Badge of Courage. His short stories - like the seven Civil War tales in this short (76 pages) Dover edition - are less familiar. These tales are notable for portraying the Civil War from the perspective of the soldier - novice and veteran, young and old, courageous and otherwise.All seven stories are good and warrant reading.

The collection includes A Mystery of Heroism (1895), A Gray Sleeve (1895), Three Miraculous Soldiers (1896), The Little Regiment (1896), The Veteran (1896), An Indiana Campaign (1896), and An Episode of War (1899).

The Little Regiment, the best known (and at 16 pages the longest) storyin this collection, is about two brothers that continually feud, thereby disguising their deep affection and love for each other.

My favorites were the shorter stories: A Mystery of Heroism, The Veteran, An Indiana Campaign, and An Episode of War.All four address the meaning of courage, but from quite varied perspectives.

I found both A Gray Sleeve and Three Miraculous Soldiers to be a little dated, a little staged, and maybe a bit too melodramatic.

Other collections that might interest you: Civil War Stories by Ambrose Bierce (Dover edition) and The Civil War Stories of Harold Frederic (Syracuse University Press).

A Collection Of Entertaining U.S. Civil War Tales
This Review refers to the paperback edition of "The Little Regiment" and Other Civil War Stories (Dover Thrift Editions), by Stephen Crane.

"The Little Regiment" and Other Civil War Stories is a small collection of Civil War tales by the masterful storyteller Stephen Crane. This particular collection contains; "A Mystery of Heroism", "A Gray Sleeve", "Three Miraculous Soldiers", "The Little Regiment", "The Veteran", "An Indiana Campaign", and "An Episode of War". Each story describes the plights of soldiers or ex-soldiers in a manner that few other authors have been able to portray. Preceding the selection is a short biography of the gifted author.

Crane's short stories are surprisingly true to the Civil War, despite his being born after the subject. Through his literary work, Crane provides a window into the life of the soldier - a detail dismissed in the majority of literature due to the centering on generals or famous leaders.

The literary style Crane presents is said, by some, to be confusing, especially due to his naming a certain person and then neglecting to call that person by their name later in the story (i.e. if an author starts a conversation in a book naming a soldier as "John" and then later refers to him as "the soldier"). However, this form of writing conveys a sense that the soldier is any soldier and that the name has no particular influence on how the soldier acts or reacts, therefore defining not a single soldier, but rather the general soldier - every soldier. Crane also presents environments not from a visual perspective, but rather from the perspective that a human consciousness would be in possession of.

The work of Stephen Crane is rather remarkable and deserves to be read in centuries to come. Despite the quality of his work, however, the book is composed of rather cheap materials. It is suggested that the reader purchase this collection only if they have the intention of reading the book a relatively few times, and that if the reader looks to have a book that will last a while to get a copy of his tales in a better quality paper. To conclude, the stories will make a great addition to any library although it would be best to get a print of higher quality paper composition. ... Read more

Book Description
In this compelling work, Keith Gandal reveals how the slum in nineteenth-century America, long a topic for sober moral analysis, became in the 1890s an unprecedented source of spectacle, captured in novels, newspapers, documentary accounts, and photographs. Reflecting a change in the middle-class vision of the poor, the slum no longer drew attention simply as a problem of social conditions and vice but emerged as a subject for aesthetic, ethnographic, and psychological description. From this period dates the fascination with the "colorful" alternative customs and ethics of slum residents, and an emphasis on nurturing their self-esteem. Middle-class portrayals of slum life as "strange and dangerous" formed part of a broad turn-of-the-century quest for masculinity, Gandal argues, a response to a sentimental Victorian respectability perceived as stifling. These changes in middle-class styles for representing the urban poor signalled a transformation in middle- class ethics and a reconception of subjectivity. Developing a broad cultural context for the 1890s interest in the poor, Gandal also offers close, groundbreaking analysis of two of the period's crucial texts. Looking at Jacob Riis's How the Other Half Lives (1890), Gandal documents how Riis's use of ethnographic and psychological details challenged traditional moralist accounts and helped to invent a spectacular style of documentation that still frames our approach as well as our solutions to urban problems.Stephen Crane's Maggie: A Girl of the Streets (1893) pushed ethnographic and psychological analysis even farther, representing a human interiority centered around self-image as opposed to character and exploring not only different customs but a radically different ethics in New York's Bowery--what we would call today a "culture of poverty." Gandal meanwhile demonstrates how both Riis's innovative "touristic" approach and Crane's "bohemianism" bespeak a romanticization of slum life and an emerging middle-class unease with its own values and virility. With framing discussion that relates slum representations of the 1890s to those of today, and featuring a new account of the Progressive Era response to slum life, The Virtues of the Vicious makes fresh, provocative reading for Americanists and those interested in the 1890s, issues of urban representation and reform, and the history of New York City. ... Read more