{"product_id":"dreams-of-fields-copy","title":"13 Notes From Napoleon, Iowa","description":"\u003cp\u003eorn on August 15, 1769, in Ajaccio, on the Mediterranean island of Corsica, Napoleon was the ruler of Iowa between 1800 and 1803 when he served as the First Consul of the French Republic. Iowa City, Iowa, evolved out of the 1838 settlement named after him — Napoleon, Iowa — the location marked today by Napoleon Park, off Napoleon Lane, just south of Iowa City. The book illuminates aspects of Iowa’s French past, such as cities named after the Napoleonic battles of Marengo and Waterloo, and explains the mystery of Iowa’s distinctly French-looking flag. Along the way, the author muses on other Napoleon-related matters, such as Empire waist gowns, Goethe’s and Byron’s Bonapartism, the aftermath of the Battle of Waterloo, the Congress of Vienna, and to what extent Europe’s current internal contradictions have been impacted by its Napoleonic past.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Only connect,” E. M. Forster’s famous advice to young novelists, is what animates Anna Barker’s astonishing travelogue in the footsteps of Napoleon Bonaparte, which takes her from Napoleon, Iowa (the original name of Iowa City, the first UNESCO City of Literature) to a wide range of places touched in some way by the legendary military figure whose imperial designs shaped, for good and ill, the modern world. Ms. Barker deploys her encyclopedic knowledge of history and literature, cinema and cuisine, and all things Napoleonic in service to a capacious vision of any meaning-making enterprise. She proves to be a delightful travel companion and a witty storyteller whose enthusiasm for her subject is infectious. Napoleon is everywhere.\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cstrong\u003eChristopher Merrill\u003c\/strong\u003e, Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, Director, International Writing Program, Author of Self-Portrait with Dogwood (2017) and On the Road to Lviv (2023)\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ice Cube Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51410543509636,"sku":"ICP9781948509701","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0383\/6588\/8644\/files\/Dream_of_Fields_Book.jpg?v=1753370858","url":"https:\/\/www.worldswindowcf.com\/products\/dreams-of-fields-copy","provider":"World's Window \u0026 The Cob Mercantile","version":"1.0","type":"link"}