JOHN ANTHONY is a retired businessman living with his wife of nearly sixty years in a house overlooking the Salish Sea in Washington State. He became interested in exploring his ancestry shortly after retiring and was surprised to discover a number of his ancestors of whom he’d been previously unaware, had lived remarkable lives. Foremost amongst them was his great-grandfather Joseph, who, as a fifteen-year-old foundling, enlisted in the Union Army during the Civil War. Because of his age, he was commissioned as a Drummerboy, and served with the 74th Ohio Volunteer Infantry commanded by the “Fighting Parish” Granville Moody. Over the course of the next four years he would find himself caught up in 24 different battles throughout the South, taking him right to the end of the war. John became fascinated with his great-grandfather’s story, one that gave him a more intimate look at a nation at war with itself. This fascination and his resulting research, led John to craft Joseph’s story, a story that eventually became The Reluctant Drummer. John’s ancestry search continues, and he is currently working on a sequel in which we follow the remarkable lives of Joseph’s sons, Dave, Charlie, Al, and Rich, also set in a time of America struggling with transition. The war this time around between Labor – the Wobblies – and the rising power of corporate owners – the Robber Barons.