Customer Reviews

Shiloh 1862: The Death Of Innocence (Campaign)

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This book manages to explain in simple terms the complex struggle at Shiloh without going over the layperson's head. The illustrations are excellent and useful. It is one of the best books in the Osprey Campaign series I have read to date. The author goes into logical detail about the events before during and after the battle and keeps an exciting pace. I highly recommend this title to anyone interested in the battle of Shiloh. It is good enough to stand alone or as an excellent addition to the Campaign series.

Fans of the Osprey Campaign series will enjoy this volume. The writing is clear and there are good maps. Unlike many Civil War books were are little more than a ctalog of the actions of individual regiments, the author gives a good view of the big picture of the battle, and how it helped Grant rise to prominence, as well as a good sprinkling of personal accounts by participants.

The Osprey Battles series of books are always superbly illustrated and always short. This sometimes leads to books that are long on illustrations and short on anything else, especially text to explain what happened during the fighting. In some cases, the authors opt to pay attention, in detail, to some portion of the fighting, and leave everything else to another book. Here, the author can do that with some confidence: the battle was small enough that the fighting at the Hornet's nest and the counterattack on the second day can occupy much of the text without there being any misunderstanding of the course of the battle or its outcome.

I generally enjoy these books at least somewhat, though the thin text at some points is annoying. This one is better than most for the above reasons.

Shiloh 1862 The Death of Innocence by James R. Arnold
Illustrated by Alan Perry. (Osprey Series)

I have been a student of the Battle of Shiloh for several years. Most serious students of the American Civil War who have read the Osprey series of books will know that these (Osprey) are introductory books to the battles. From a textual point, this book it is great for beginners and gives a good overview of the battle. This does not mean it should not to be read by the devoted amateur historian. What this book lacks in battle detail, it more than makes up for with period photography not often found in other books. It also uses period illustrations to good effect. The modern illustrations by Alan Perry are very good and will help those new to the war and those who have studied it for many years enjoy the reading. The best points of this book are the excellent maps showing troop placements and movements in both overhead and perspective views. The perspective views give a good feel of the topography and lay of the land in an almost 3D image. Additionally, the maps show the progress of battle throughout the day. Although it can be found in most books on Shiloh, this one also has a very good Order of Battle of each of the armies that were present making it a good quick reference guide. If you want battle details to the regimental level this book may not be your choice, but it still has its merits. If you are a serious student of the Battle of Shiloh and detail is what you need, I recommend O. Edward Cunningham's dissertation, "Shiloh and the Western Campaign of 1862", Wiley Sword's "Shiloh: Bloody April" and Larry J. Daniel's "Shiloh". For those new to Shiloh wanting to learn of the events that took place 150 years ago, and to the old veteran student, this will be a good addition to your library.