A remarkably vivid tale of valor, fate, and young men dying young. Robert Mrazek's epic tale, reconstructed with breathtaking research and recounted with a novelist's keen eye for detail, is a worthy monument to Torpedo Squadron Eight. --Rick Atkinson, author of The Day of Battle and An Army at Dawn
Bob Mrazek has found fresh material about the two pivotal Pacific battles of 1942 and written a marvelous book. His research and obvious affection for his heroes is indeed extraordinary. A Dawn Like Thunder is a spectacular achievement and a vital addition to any Pacific War library. --Hon. Charles Wilson of Charlie Wilson's War
The most highly decorated Navy Flyboys of World War II flew through hell and suffered the highest combat losses. Strap yourself in as Robert Mrazek takes you on a heroic flight into history. --James Bradley, author of Flyboys and Flags of Our Fathers
A Dawn Like Thunder hooked me from the first page and didn’t let go. Robert Mrazek has written the definitive account of how the few American pilots of Torpedo Squadron Eight changed history at Midway and Guadalcanal. A stirring, truly heroic book that is destined to become a classic. --Alex Kershaw, author of Escape from the Deep and The Longest Winter
Robert Mrazek brings the dare-devil pilots of Torpedo Squadron Eight back to life in a narrative so vivid and heartbreaking that their courage reaches across the decades, leaving us moved by their incredible sacrifice and heroism. --Thurston Clarke, author of The Last Campaign and Pearl Harbor Ghosts
What makes A Dawn Like Thunder so special is that it is at once so absolutely horrible -- war is hell taken to the ultimate -- but at the same time so wonderfully uplifting. Robert Mrazek has, with a raw, unsparing telling, given grace and life to so many who died so young, so every-day, so gallantly.
--Frank Deford, author of The Entitled and The Old Ball Game
A Dawn Like Thunder is no ordinary history. It is a soaring epic prose ballad about a group of young Americans whose rendezvous with destiny in 1942 at Midway and then Guadalcanal blazed a trail their whole generation would follow. With an amazing depth of research and a keen eye for detail, Robert Mrazek has brought to vivid life an enduring tale of human tragedy and triumph that will speak down to the latest generation. --Richard B. Frank, author of Downfall and Guadalcanal
From the Publisher
"Dick Hill gives this work an excellent reading.... His expressive and easygoing manner makes the art of narration seem effortless." -AudioFile