A Higher Call

An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World War II

By: Adam Makos

Narrated by: Robertson Dean

Length: 13 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER: “Beautifully told.”—CNN • “A remarkable story…worth retelling and celebrating.”—USA Today • “Oh, it’s a good one!”—Fox News

A beautiful story of a brotherhood between enemies emerges from the horrors of World War II in this New York Times bestseller by the author of Devotion, now a Major Motion Picture.

Four days before Christmas in 1943, a badly damaged American bomber struggled to fly over wartime Germany. At its controls was a twenty-one-year-old pilot. Half his crew lay wounded or dead. It was their first mission. Suddenly a sleek, dark shape pulled up on the bomber’s tail—a German Messerschmitt fighter. Worse, the German pilot was an ace, a man able to destroy the American bomber with the squeeze of a trigger. What happened next would defy imagination and later be called the most incredible encounter between enemies in World War II.

This is the true story of the two pilots whose lives collided in the skies that day—the American—Second Lieutenant Charlie Brown, a former farm boy from West Virginia who came to captain a B-17—and the German—Second Lieutenant Franz Stigler, a former airline pilot from Bavaria who sought to avoid fighting in World War II.

A Higher Call follows both Charlie and Franz’s harrowing missions. Charlie would face takeoffs in English fog over the flaming wreckage of his buddies’ planes, flak bursts so close they would light his cockpit, and packs of enemy fighters that would circle his plane like sharks. Franz would face sandstorms in the desert, a crash alone at sea, and the spectacle of one thousand bombers, each with eleven guns, waiting for his attack.

Ultimately, Charlie and Franz would stare across the frozen skies at one another. What happened between them, the American Eighth Air Force would later classify as top secret. It was an act that Franz could never mention without facing a firing squad. It was the encounter that would haunt both Charlie and Franz for forty years until, as old men, they would search for one another, a last mission that could change their lives forever.

©2012 Adam Makos (P)2013 Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

Critic reviews

“This book grips you like a movie. It’s part Top Gun, part Valkyrie, and more!”(Marcus Brotherton, New York Times best-selling author

“It is often said that ‘war is hell’ - and it is - however, this story reveals how the human spirit can shine in the darkest hours. A Higher Call is an eye-opener.” (Col. Charles McGee, Tuskegee Airman, WWII)

“‘Can good men be found on both sides of a bad war?’ The author asks the question and delivers the answer. A powerful, haunting read.” (Chuck Tatum, author of Red Blood, Black Sand)

An amazing story!

I hosted both Charlie and Franz at Air Expo in Mpls shortly before they died. What gentlemen they both were. I miss them deeply.

Humanity at its best, during the worst of times.

Arriving at my destination didn't matter, I found myself continuing to listen long after I was parked.

WWII air fights

The other parts of the story are very exciting and interesting. I learned a lot.

The whole story should not be passed up By any WW2 history buff

 Anyone interested with some detail of the air war over Europe most notable B17s the ME 109 fighter and the Messerschmitt 262 jet should listen to this book it’s awesome .

When honor and heroes meet

As an orphan (now 58) I have always felt that each person who ever went to war or that served, did so for me. For a kid that had no family, no father and no one who ever stood up for me in life's trials, these people were willing to give it all. One of the very deepest respect's that I have is for each and every one of you! I have always tried to do what was right, to respect others and to make you proud in my own way. You freely put yourselves on the line for a kid that was always counted out, if ever even counted at all. You gave me (in some way) a reason to believe that I truly did matter. That I was worth more than a mother or father could ever express, and yet we had never met. You gave me pride, self-reliance and self-respect when all the world had given me was isolation, desolation, loneliness and pain. But I was worth the ultimate price. You were willing to lay down your lives for a kid lost in the foster system and raised in a garage, to you I mattered. I know that none of you signed up just to protect me, but that didn't tarnish my respect and admiration for all that you did. You traded your dreams for nightmares, and your youth for me to be given a chance for hope through hard work. I hope and pray that I never let you down and that I helped as many of you along the way and I never would except payment and hardly even a thank you. From the deepest part of my heart and with all of my respect THANK YOU for each and every single second of your service and for giving me a life and value. May God bless you, our country and the men and women who are serving, have severed and who will serve, you are my heroes!

From the kid in the garage
Mark Anthony Carter

A very enjoyable read. 5 stars.

This is the best historical non-fiction novel I’ve enjoyed in a long time. And a great story of human compassion. And the best part, I’d never heard it. I also learned some fresh WWII history as well. The narration was excellent and fit the atmosphere and mood of the story.

Very Moving

This was a beautiful account of love and fidelity. Oh, that men would no longer go to war!

When Enemies Become Friends

"A Higher Calling" revealed that in these perilous times in which we're living, the possibility of good prevailing is still real and something to hope for. But only for those with strong moral character, humility, and compassion.

Sometimes the truth is better than fiction...

Any additional comments?

A Higher Call is one of those inspiring stories that makes you want to be a better person. World War II brought about some of the most unthinkable actions of pure evil mankind has ever seen - and yet amongst such atrocities, decency and valor and good will still shone through in the actions of men from both sides of the war. This is one of those stories.

This book brought tears to my eyes. And for a man's man who stinks at showing emotion like me - that's saying something. Phenomenal book.

I could not put it down

If you could sum up A Higher Call in three words, what would they be?

Read it for yourself. I enjoyed discovering how this came to be told and then the people were unfolded. There were times when I felt like I was with them. It made me laugh and cry.

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Higher Call?

The aircraft called "the Pub" was just spell binding.