The Struggle for the Mississippi: A Diary of My Experiences in the American Civil War (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781974672820)

Sam Rettman was born in 1946 in Hof, Germany. Both his parents were Holocaust survivors who had met and married in a DP (Displaced Persons) camp. In 1949 the family moved to Canton, Ohio, where Sam went to primary and secondary schools. In 1964 Sam journeyed to Brunswick, Maine, to attend Bowdoin College. Following his graduation, Sam returned to Canton where, for thirty years, he taught German, English, and Creative Writing. One of his Creative Writing students was Marilyn Manson. Today Sam lives in Akron, Ohio, with his wife Jen, their two dogs, Jake and Sonny, and their three cats, One, Spooky, and Phantom. Since his retirement from teaching, he has played harmonica and saxophone in various musical groups including his wife's Zydeco band, Mo' Mojo. He also plays in a country blues duo, The Bluey Moods. Sam is an experienced white-water rafter, having been among the first to run some of West Virginia's wildest rivers. He also enjoys visiting other cultures. He has toured Europe twice, and, with Jen, has been to Canada, Mexico, Australia (three times), New Zealand, Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Fiji, and Tajikistan. Sam and Jen consider New Orleans their second home. In the year following Hurricane Katrina, they made five trips to NOLA, where they rescued animals, cleaned out flooded homes, and cooked for health professionals in a Common Ground clinic. Sam has published a novel, Pookas and Boneheads, and his poems have appeared in various collections. His translation of The Struggle for the Mississippi is the first ever of this diary.