Thank you to Charles French for introducing me to his innovative U. L. S., The Underground Library Society and for including me as a member. The preservation of literature of all kinds is close to my heart and I am proud to be associated with such a wonderful initiative.
Charles is also a writer of several great books, do pop over to his blog and have a look: https://charlesfrenchonwordsreadingandwriting.wordpress.com/
I want to welcome Robbie Cheadle to the U. L. S., The Underground Library Society! This group is an unofficial collection of people who deeply value books. It is based on the idea of The Book People from Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Robbie is the newest member of this group of book lovers!
Robbie has excellent blogs: Robbie Cheadle books/poems/reviews and Robbie’s inspiration. Both are wonderful; please be sure to visit them.
The Red Badge of Courage
Background
The Red Badge of Courage is a novel about the American Civil War, written by American author, Stephen Crane. Although the author was born after the war and had not ever participated in a battle when he wrote the book, The Red Badge of Courage is cited for its realism and naturalism.
The book depicts several very vivid and intense battle scenes which are graphically depicted from the perspective of the young protagonist, Henry Fleming, a private in the Union Army. The book explores the themes of maturism, heroism and cowardice with regards to Fleming’s regiment which comprises mainly of inexperienced first-time soldiers who have conscripted for various reasons and the indifference of nature to the follies of man.
The red badge of courage referred to in the title of the book is a wound incurred during battle.
My review of this book
The Red Badge of Courage was a fascinating insight into the psychology of warfare for young recruits who have never experienced battle before. I read the author’s biography and was astonished that he had never experienced war before he wrote this startling descriptive and vivid account of the fictional 304th New York Infantry Regiment during the American Civil War.
The main character is 18-year old man from a farming background called Henry Fleming. Henry is tired of the monotony of his life helping his mother on the farm and enlists because he has romanticized battle as a result of reading several accounts of war. He is attracted by his perceived glamour of battle and enlists against the advice of his mother. When she attempts to give him some practical advice before he leaves to join his new regiment, he resents her words which belie and detract from his romantic notions.
Continue reading here: https://charlesfrenchonwordsreadingandwriting.wordpress.com/2020/02/16/another-member-of-the-u-l-s-robbie-cheadle-writes-on-the-red-badge-of-courage/
I read this book as part of the Back to the Classics Challenge 2020
https://karensbooksandchocolate.blogspot.com/2020/01/back-to-classics-challenge-2020.html
roberta-writes.com 
What a great initiative. Congratulations on being a part of it, Robbie.
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Thank you, Norah. It is rather fun.
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I love the idea of the U.L.S.! Congratulations on your membership.
Your review of the Red Badge of Courage was excellent!
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Thank you, Mae, I’m glad you like this idea. I think it is terrific. The Red Badge of Courage is a very iconic book and I am glad I have read it.
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Robbie, a superb review and congratulations on being part of the wonderfully named U. L. S., The Underground Library Society! Enjoy!😀
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Thank you, Annika, I am glad you enjoyed this review.
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I’m trying to remember in what grade this book was required reading. Your review is probably better than my book report 😏
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It isn’t a set book here, Dan. My son has read The Great Gatsby for school this term and I have that one on my list for the next few months. I am enjoying reading some famous American authors as we mainly get English (UK) works here.
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Great review, Robbie. I read this years ago and might have to reread it.
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Such a great book, Denise. One of the great America writers.
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Congratulations on your ULS Membership and on a great review, Robbie! ❤
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Thank you, Bette. I think this is a great initiative of Charles’.
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Wonderful!
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I can’t help asking Robbie (I know I should go investigate Charles’ site, but I have a healthcare appointment in a few minutes)… are people in this initiative actually memorizing entire books? (The reference to Fahrenheit 451)
Anyhow, I enjoyed your review. I was thinking I had read this in school, but now I see that I didn’t. I just remember learning about is and maybe a snippet that I thought was amazing.
I think the way people used to glamorize war is a lot like what we do with video games today. People stop realizing that when someone is killed, they don’t get back up when the game starts again…
Well done. Hugs on the wing.
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Hi Teagan, thanks for asking, we don’t actually memorise any books, It is about choosing a book that you believe is so important to preserve you would be prepared to memorise it and become that book. I must be honest that my loves go with my latest reads so I pick a new one every quarter. My last share was 1984 by Charles Orwell.
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Robbie, thank you so much for this post and for joining the U. L. S.!
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Thanks for inviting me, Charles. I love this idea.
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I *just* finished this book -enjoyed it much more than I thought I would, too.
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I am so happy to hear that. I really enjoyed this book and I was enthralled by the psychology of war.
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I read it because I’ve read so little from a Union perspective. I enjoyed the similarities and differences between this representation and other, Southern ones I’ve read. But yes, a very psychological dive, especially for an author who wrote before PTSD was recognized as a thing.
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Yes, come to think of it, this is the only civil war book I’ve read from the Union side.
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Yup! Part of what’s special about the Civil War is that the losers of the war got to write the vast majority of the histories. When people complain that white southerners aren’t “over it,” there’s plenty of reason – and I could go on, and on, and on…
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I’ve never heard of the U.L.S. until just now, sounds like a wonderful group!
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It is a lot of fun to read some classic books and decide if they are still meaningful and should be preserved going forward, Mark. I really enjoyed this great American novel and have The Great Gatsby next on my list.
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congrats on becoming a member – sounds like a secret society! I think I read the Red badge of Courage, but I cannot remember, so thank you for your review. I did read Lord of the Flies this year, and now I am almost finished with Siddhartha (not sure if that is considered a classic, but I do remember reading it in high school and having no idea what was going on; it is much more enjoyable now…
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