Robert J. Mrazek graduated from Cornell University, served in the US Navy, and served five terms in the US Congress. Mrazek authored the Amerasian Homecoming Act, which brought nineteen thousand children of Americans who served in Vietnam to the USA. He also authored the National Film Preservation Act, which established the National Film Registry in the Library of Congress to protect films of cultural importance. Since leaving Congress, Mrazek has authored ten books, earning the ALA's top honor for military fiction, the Michael Shaara award for Civil War Fiction, and Best Book (American History) from The Washington Post. He also wrote and co-directed the 2016 feature film The Congressman. He lives in upstate NY and Maine.