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)

A Wonderful Story, So Well Told!!!

The author, Adam Makos, did a masterful job interweaving the stories of these two great airmen! This is absolutely one of my favorite books, ever! It's should be especially good for those with an interest in WWII, but also for those who like stories of chivalry and resolution. The ending of this book is just incredibly beautiful. Franz Stigler, the German airman, is one of my all-time favorite characters. Thank you, Adam Makos!

Inspiring! We need humanity like this today!

This book produced a powerful paradigm shift in me about supposed enemies. Highly recommend it. An excellent description of WWII. Gripping. Inspiring. Humbling.
The reader was excellent. His accents really helped the experience.
A must read!

Amazing story

Incredible story that’s so relevant today - two men who were literally supposed to kill one another dug down deep and found their common humanity. So vivid, so touching. Wonderful read!

Fantastic Book

I didn’t want to stop listening to this book when I started. One of the most captivating books I’ve listened to so far.

Excellent !!

Heartwarming story that I couldn’t put down & I cried at the end. One of the best that I’ve listened too !!

Fantastic book.

What an amazing story. Everything was perfectly done. Wars are awful, but sometimes something good appears in them.

Awesome story

What a heart warming story and some of the motivation when men and women fight for their country. Not always what is expected. Definitely worth the listen.

A great read!

One of the finest reads ever for me. very well done and an awesome story

Wonderful read

So very interesting and an event I’m sure many have never of. Kept my interest through the whole book

Amazing!!

What an amazing true story!! It goes to show that not ALL Germans were ok with Hitler’s ideals!! It was so so very refreshing to hear a German’s point of view of the workings of the Nazi party from someone who detested the Nazi party and was also having to deal with the Nazi regime from the inside. Great great story!!!