Their friendship soon develops an unexpected intimacy. Baffled by their feelings, but committed to exploring them further, Tommy and David do everything to spend time together, even after David is wounded and sent home to England to convalesce.
Ringel first began work on the book in 1992 at the height of the controversy surrounding President Bill Clinton’s campaign promise to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” He envisioned a saga that examined a relationship between two soldiers set against the backdrop of WWI. This idea launched Ringel into a five-year journey across America and through Europe in a quest to make sure that FLOWER OF IOWA was as historically accurate as possible. The author visited former battlefields across the French countryside, their surrounding towns, as well as numerous museums in Europe and the United States.
Equally tragic and hopeful, dramatically stirring and historically faithful, FLOWER OF IOWA takes its place among the memorable novels about the Great War, distinguishing itself with a gallery of compelling characters, meticulous research and exhilarating storytelling that vividly captures the war and the universal nature of love.
