Praise For Robert J. Mrazek

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​STONEWALL’S GOLD (fiction)
*Winner of the Michael Shaara Award for Civil War Fiction

“Echoing The Red Badge of Courage, Treasure Island and Morte D'Arthur, this tenderly rendered first novel, which takes the form of a manuscript, irresistibly combines the classic motifs of Civil War, buried treasure and romantic heroism… Mrazek's story possesses a compelling narrative drive. His sense of landscape is expert... Mrazek's exceptional coming-of- age tale will equally delight young adult and adult readers. FYI: When Mrazek served in the U.S. Congress, he coauthored the bill to prevent the Manassas Civil War Battlefield from becoming a shopping center.” —Publishers Weekly

“This first novel by ex-Congressman Mrazek is a deft and fast-paced historical adventure… A gripping, well-researched, and vivid debut.” —Kirkus Reviews

“A simple tale almost magically rendered.” --Denver Post

“A priceless novel…Mrazek joins a handful of writers who have mined the vast field of the Civil War to produce a must-read book.” --The Washington Times
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​UNHOLY FIRE (fiction)
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“Tautly gripping, with vividly malevolent characters and some excellent historical color.”
--Kirkus Reviews

“Among Civil War novels, this second effort by former U.S. Congressman Mrazek (after his prize-winning Stonewall's Gold) is a rare find: a book that successfully combines mystery, historical drama and impressive wartime verisimilitude… Mrazek's portrayal of Civil War battle is stark, graphic, bloody and exciting, and is only exceeded by his memorable description of Washington, D.C., as a Gomorrah on the Potomac.”--Publishers Weekly

“A compelling look at the debilitating physical and psychological realities of war and a brilliant portrait of a time in our history by a former congressman... Mrazek—a former Democratic representative from New York who won the Michael Shaara Award for his previous Civil War novel—masterfully weaves fact and fiction…poignant and well-drawn.” --Washingtonian 

“Although I picked up this novel skeptically, I had a hard time trying to put it down. The author, Robert Mrazek, who was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 1993, has a genuine storytelling gift…Mr. Mrazek keeps his plot complications in balance and spinning toward a spectacular final chase and conclusion… If the author is to explore his talent at writing in this vein, it will make him either abandon the thriller genre or enrich it in some unusual way… The second evocative and deeply touching passage is a postscript set in 1920…The postscript is filled with genuine, not conventional, ache of the soul... It was fun getting to the end, but the end itself provides something better.” --The Washington Times
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​A DAWN LIKE THUNDER (nonfiction)
Washington Post “Best Book of 2009 (American History)

"A Dawn Like Thunder, by journalist-turned-congressman-turned-novelist Robert J. Mrazek, melds a good story with solid and skeptical research. Mrazek's multiple roles over the years-- are perhaps why the book moves so well… Academically trained historians too often reduce gripping events to soul-parching compilations of cautious statements that only the most generous might grace with the term ‘narrative.’ On the flip side, journalists attempting to write works of history sometimes jettison their skepticism; the result is often a great story but not very good history. In his first foray into history, Mrazek captures the best of both approaches, avoiding hagiography and telling the story of Torpedo Eight and the war in the Pacific as it was, not as some might wish it had been… Mrazek injects that most elusive element, complexity… With A Dawn Like Thunder he earns the title of historian, one that this reviewer does not apply lightly. I look forward to his next work of nonfiction. If you need me, I'll be in the bookstore, looking up his previously published novels.”--The Washington Post

“Mrazek brilliantly captures the bravery of Squadron Eight in World War II's pivotal battle of Midway… Mrazek's gripping account of the group's bombing activities is rich in detail and tactical analysis. A well-written and meticulously researched account of one of America's most distinguished World War II aerial groups.”--Library Journal

“Robert Mrazek has with a raw, unsparing telling, given grace and life to so many who died so young, so every day, so gallantly. Wonderfully uplifting.” --Frank Deford

“A soaring epic prose ballad about a group of young Americans whose rendezvous with destiny blazed a trail their whole generation would follow…an enduring tale of human tragedy and triumph that will speak down to the latest generation.”  --Richard Frank

“A stirring, truly heroic book that is destined to become a classic.”  --Alex Kershaw
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​THE DEADLY EMBRACE (fiction)
Winner of the *2007 W.Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction from the American Library Association 

“An intricate and stunning plot.  Mrazek lends true emotion and depth to this remarkable story of intrigue and suspense.  
--Nelson DeMille

"A fast-paced thriller laced with violence and filled with unexpected twists that keep the reader guessing to the last page." 
-- Rennie Airth, author of The Blood-Dimmed Tide

"A first-rate World War II adventure with two finely drawn heroes. Robert Mrazek has done a great job bringing time past into the present tense."
--Susan Isaacs, author of Shining Through
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​​TO KINGDOM COME  (non-fiction)

"With power and passion, Robert J. Mrazek tells the story of one of the most calamitous American bombing missions of World War II....Mrazek writes about the ill-fated Stuttgart Raid as though he had gone into the heart of the Reich with the audacious American bomber crews...a great book with 'hold on to your seat' suspense."   --Donald L. Miller, author of Masters of the Air: America's Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany

"Mrazek has uncovered the moment of profound exigency for the bomber crews, when the course and consequence of the air war converged and rendered it in vivid clarity." -Hugh Ambrose, New York Times bestselling author of The Pacific

"[A] work of cinematic sweep and pace." --Richard Frank, author of Downfall and Guadalcanal

"Through superb historical research and powerful narrative writing, the author brings back to life a pivotal, heartbreaking episode."  --Tami Biddle, Professor, U.S. Army War College, and author of Rhetoric and Reality in Air Warfare

THE ART POTTERY OF JOSEPH MRAZEK: A COLLECTOR'S GUIDE
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The book chronicles the extraordinary life of a Czech-American who emigrated to the United States in 1908, and became a gifted painter and ceramicist, a decorated hero of the Czechoslovakian independence movement, an American undercover agent in World War I, and a friend of Tomas Masaryk, the "father of Czechoslovakia." His brilliantly-colored, hand-painted pottery can be found in museum collections and in the homes of thousands of collectors all over the world.
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​VALHALLA (fiction)

“A taut, original thriller… I couldn’t put it down.” –Ryan Lockwood, Author of Below
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“This book offers so much excitement and adventure it makes one not ever want to finish reading it.” 
--Amazon.
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​THE BONE HUNTERS (fiction)

“Mrazek's exciting sequel to 2014's Valhalla… thriller fans will be well satisfied.”  --Publishers Weekly
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​DEAD MAN’S BRIDGE (fiction)
 
“[A] strong series launch…The complex characterization of the lead bodes well for the series’ longevity.”
―Publishers Weekly

"Gritty…punchy and lucid. An auspicious series debut.”
―Kirkus Reviews

“Fast-paced, character-driven…flawless.”―Foreword Reviews

"Intriguing plot. A hero to root for."―Robert Dugoni, #1 Amazon and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of My Sister's Grave

"A gem of a tale, taut with tension and so wonderfully crafted that it's difficult to put down."―Rick Mofina, international bestselling author of Last Seen

“Vivid and visceral…engages from page one…A genuine page-turner that's not only smart but truly packs a punch."―Douglas Corleone, author of Robert Ludlum's The Janson Equation


​AND THE SPARROW FELL (Fiction)

​“And the Sparrow Fell describes in touching detail the ‘honorable wounds of war’ of those who fought to win and those who fought to end the war in Vietnam. Mrazek lived much of what he has written, and his reflection is a timely reminder of the meaning of honor and courage.” ―Dick Durbin, U.S. Senator from Illinois

“Bob Mrazek has a wonderful feel for mood and character and time and place— all the ingredients that make his And the Sparrow Fell such a compelling novel. It grabbed me from the first page and kept getting deeper and more powerful.” ―David Maraniss, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of They Marched into Sunlight

  • ​​​And the Sparrow Fell is a riveting and haunting coming of age story that takes place at a pivotal moment during the Vietnam War -- when the body count was dramatically rising and opposition to the war was building.  Robert J. Mrazek uses this backdrop to tell the story of the Ledbetters, an affluent family living on the Gold Coast of Long Island whose lives unravel as the country disintegrates around them. 

Literary and Filmmaking Awards