"Shiloh: Conquer or Perish"

We've known for some time that Shiloh expert Timothy Smith has been working on a new battle study, but we're now getting more publicly available information about it. Shiloh: Conquer or Perish will be published in November of this year by University Press of Kansas.  Reading the book description, those of us who have been unsatisfied with every prior study's treatment of the 2nd day will find reason to be hopeful:

"Contrary to previous histories, Smith tells us, the battle was not won or lost on the first day, but rather in the decision-making of the night that followed and in the next day's fighting. Devoting unprecedented attention to the details of that second day, his book shows how the Union's triumph was far less assured, and much harder to achieve, than has been acknowledged. Smith also employs a new organization strategy to clarify the action. By breaking his analysis of both days' fighting into separate phases and sectors, he makes it much easier to grasp what was happening in each combat zone, why it unfolded as it did, and how it related to the broader tactical and operational context of the entire battle. The battlefield's diverse and challenging terrain also comes in for new scrutiny. Through detailed attention to the terrain's major features--most still visible at the Shiloh National Military Park--Smith is able to track their specific and considerable influence on the actions, and their consequences, over those forty-eight hours."