Before his untimely death at the age of 28, Stephen Crane produced the most innovative writing of his generation. Begun when he was just 21, is the powerful story of a young Union soldier under fire for the first time. It remains our greatest novel of the Civil War, and a major contribution to the literature of war in English. With its publication, American fiction entered the modern age. For almost thirty years, The Library of America has presented America's best and most significant writing in acclaimed hardcover editions. Now, a new series, Library of America Paperback Classics, offers attractive and affordable books that bring The Library of America's authoritative texts within easy reach of every reader. Each book features an introductory essay by one of a leading writer, as well as a detailed chronology of the author's life and career, an essay on the choice and history of the text, and notes. The contents of this Paperback Classic are drawn from , volume number 18 in the Library of America series. That volume also includes , war correspondence and journalism, and collected and uncollected poetry.