Stephen Crane (1871-1900) was born in New Jersey and was the last of fourteen children. While The Red Badge of Courage is considered Crane's masterpiece, he is also known for another brilliant yet grim work of fiction, Maggie, A Girl of the Streets (1893), as well as his poetry and journalism. Crane moved to Europe in 1897 and died in Germany at the age of twenty-nine from tuberculosis. Jim Murphy has written two Newbery Honor books: An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 (which was also a National Book Award finalist) and The Great Fire. He lives in New Jersey. Visit his Web site at www.jimmurphybooks.com.