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)

phenomenal and moving story

One of the best war stories I've ever heard.
Touching and humbling.
Story was great, well paced, and well narrated.

Best of Makos so far

I thoroughly enjoyed Spearhead by Adam Makos and chose to purchase this book based on enjoying that book. This one was even better. Like Spearhead, the most vivid parts of the book are the battles. The author doesn't hold back on the gore of war, and effectively brings out the real-life emotion during these graphic scenes. I found myself often looking at the main page to find out how much time was left in the book because I was always surprised as to how much of the story was left to be told. The research is great and the way Makos weaves non-fictional facts and history into a story was masterful. The author does a fine job and overall the book is recommended.

Outstanding

Appealing to those interested in history or simply a great story. Demonstrates the conflicts and complexity of individuals and units during war. A WWII yarn with a very human touch.

Very touching !

I read a lot of books about WW11 . This one was especially good. I was so touched by the personal stories and of the incredible heroism of the pilots.

One of the best books I've ever listened to!

The narrator did a great job bringing this story to life! I couldn't stop listening!

A can't miss story

Wow, this is a can't miss book. Amazing story that puts you behind the scenes of both the American and German sides of the story. Highly recommend, I have a newfound respect for all the pilots and crewmen of our bomber crews. I was also unaware of how many German pilots tried to act with honor amid their country succumbing to the greatest or evil.

fully dug it

was a really fun story, it's nice to see a human side of war, and super well told

True Story Better Than Fiction

The writing brings this history to life. Good narration. I couldn't stop listening. Better than many other books on perspective and tactics on German side. Good information about first operational jet fighters.

Great Story from Another Perspective

Churchill once said, "History is written by the victors." I liked this story because it gave one German's perspective of WWII. Most war movies portrayed the entire German military as being evil. This story provides insight into a man who displayed honor at a time when he could've ended the lives of the bomber crew. I liked hearing how the Germans attempted to fight even with odds stacking up against them as the Allies closed in. This is a part of history that gets left out of our textbooks. The narrator did a great job telling the story!

Two unlikely Heroes

This book “A Higher Call” is incredible! Be prepared to be overwhelmed with emotion. A true story that is well documented. It gives a different point of view that I never considered. Better than a lot of fiction. A book everyone should read.