Shiloh 1862 is a good, relatively light introduction to the devastating Civil War battle of April 1862. Groom uses anecdotes, individual family expriences, and narrative history to flesh-out the events of the 2-day battle-- as well as those preceding and following the aftermath. He manages to convey the confusion of those days particularly well, when the ordered columns and text-book theories of "how a battle should be fought" were thrown to the four winds. The descriptions of the geography and its relevance to events is explained very well. All of the major players and their personalities are included and presented with interesting detail, especially Grant, Sherman, Beauregard, Forrest and the other men responsible for unleashing hell in the south-west corner of Tennessee. A very good book for the novice with little detailed knowledge of the battle. This is not a battlefield guide with descriptions of each regiment or brigade committed to action in those two days. The book does place Shiloh in the context of the greater war, stressing its impact and meaning on the events which followed, especially in the Western Theater of operations.