Milan Rastislav Stefanik - by Jozef Banas (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Per aspera ad astra - Through adversity to the stars

Milan Rastislav Stefánik was great not only for the Slovaks, but also for the Czechs and the French. A virtuoso in life and death, a magnificent example of a man who in every act surpassed himself. A man who went to the very limits of his strength to pursue his dream despite pain and adversity. The liberation of the Slovak nation was a work worthy of the measure of this man. His life was a composite of enormous faith, iron will and noble love for his nation.

In everyone there is a will to fly to the stars, but few manage to reach them. Only those whose desire is greatest can achieve this. While those lacking faith perished in the glow of street lamps, Stefánik managed to reach the stars.

Review Quotes

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "The brief but dramatic life of Milan Rastislav Stefánik invites a superlative tone, perhaps even demands it. Indeed, it would take a perverse kind of skill to make the man seem ordinary. That is what makes this historical novel by Jozef Banás so perfect for its subject, whose life seems to have been shot into the sky like a rocket."

Kevin J. McNamara

Associate Scholar of the Foreign Policy Research Institute, Philadelphia, PA,

Author of 'Dreams of a Great Small Nation: The Mutinous Army that Threatened a Revolution, Destroyed an Empire, Founded a Republic, and Remade the Map of Europe'

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "Centuries of hardship and oppression at the hands of greater powers have created a population in Slovakia that still suffers from nihilism. This is why Jozef Banas's beautifully written documentary novel, which truly brings to light the Stefánik saga is so timely and important. Not only does it boost morale, it also proves to us that our dreams are possible - when we are brave enough to surrender to their higher call."

Zuzana Palovic, PhD & Gabriela Bereghazyova, PhD

Founder and Director of Global Slovakia

Authors of 'Slovakia: The Legend of the Linden'; 'Czechoslovakia: Behind the Iron Curtain'; 'The Great Return'

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "Most readers of the English-speaking world have never heard of Stefánik or, indeed, Slovakia, a small and young state of 5.4 million people in the heart of Central Europe. Jozef Banás's historical novel has the potential to alter those numbers. He has composed an historical novel which is a tour de force, a splendidly written tribute to a man of action of humble origins... One can only say, bravo pán Banás, you have opened the world to read about Stefánik, Slovakia's beloved hero."

Professor Michael J. Kopanic, Jr.

University of Maryland Global Campus

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "Stefanik has a number of memorials in various countries, I have also contributed to a number of them - in Tahiti, Tonga and at the Altar of the Fatherland in Rome, where he triumphantly placed the flag of the Czecho-Slovak legions. But this book is the most wonderful memorial to him because every one of you, dear readers, can take it with you and enjoy it with an intimate sense of well-being."

Miroslav Musil

Slovak Diplomat, Historian, Explorer

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "Jozef Banas is a man of experience who knows the complexity of historical personalities and events, the strength of higher interests and goals and the twist and turns that exist in the routes to achieving them... Given the number of academic and popular-history books, studies, diverse memories and newspaper articles about Stefánik, it is quite surprising that Banás's novel is, in fact, only the second project of this kind over the last century."

Pavol Kanis

Former Slovak Minister of Defense