What made this book fascinating to me was the realization that the author never went to war, but supposed what it would have been like for the protagonist in the situation that he drew up for him, and seemed to have nailed it after cross-checking his fictions with Union soldiers - who knew the facts

A century later, the psychological reactions of the main character to his personal trauma checks out with research, specifically that of survivors who endure mostly or entirely unscathed despite horrors occurring around them. Malcolm Gladwell has shone a spotlight on such circumstances, and the young boy's mental outcome during and after bears out with the studies on the subject.

It also helps that Crane had an ear for dialect, ala Elmore Leonard's well-drawn out and expertly-spoken characters.

Sometimes a classic actually does impress you. ( )