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

One of the best books that I have read. Fantastic story. Once I started listening to the audiobook it was hard to stop. My wife and teenage boys also loved the audiobook.

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.

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

This audiobook is probably one of the very best I have ever listened to. In fact, I would go so far as to say this book is on a par with Laura Hildebrand’s phenomenal book titled Unbroken.

A Higher Call is a true story about two WWII heroes - Second Lieutenant Charlie Brown, who is an Army Air Corps B-17 pilot, and Second Lieutenant Franz Stigler who is a Luftwaffe fighter pilot and one of Germany's most famous Aces.

The story is incredibly well researched and extremely well written, the narration is near perfection.

Listening to this book will be worth every minute of your time, the story and the experience will enrich your life.

If I could rate this book a 10, I would do it in a heartbeat.

WWII from an entirely different perspective. Enthralling read, perfect narration. The author's research is unbelievable. Makes one wonder if Makos has been contacted by Hollywood for a movie. I hope so on one hand, but on the other, screenplays quite often water down the content far too much and part of the joy of this book is the detail presented on a closely knit time-line. In any case, I acquired a much different perspective on German military sensibilities during that era as a result of this great history lesson.

This book is a perfect example of a wonderful story waiting to be told. In the hands of a skilled writer, the author disappears and the story stands on its own. Beautifully written and leads the listener courageously through some of the most harrowing moments of the air war.

It was easy to put myself in the position of both pilots and to understand their call to duty. Particularly interesting was the mental preparation each aviator went through before undertaking missions that would reasonably be expected to end in death. Hard to imagine doing so day after day.

The reunion of the aviators at the Boeing plant at the 50th anniversary of the B-17. The emotions shared by the survivors moved me greatly.

The book easily breaks into two or three listening sessions since the author approaches the story first from the German side, then from the American side, and finally to the reconnection and reconciliation of the two sides.

This was an unusual read for me. I am not a big fan of war stories. This story was epic in its display of courage, valor and honor. It was both inspiration and humbling.

I love WWII stories, and this is one of the best I have read. Even though I knew the thread of the story before I started the book, I was captivated as the story unfolded. My faith in humanity has been restored.

The reunion of these two pilots was truly a moving part of the book. It's disturbing that some people were bothered by this development.

This book captures many aspects of a different time, which is slowly fading from our consciousness. It was thrilling to experience such a vivid picture of the air war.

I was particularly impressed by all of the information on what it was like to be a German, and a German pilot, during the war.

I hope someone does make a film. I would say that it is a story of two pilots whose path cross during the war, and again after the war.

This is one of the last great un-heard stories of WWII. The author does an impressive job introducing us to the two main characters early on in the story and then proceeds to intertwine other characters and side stories while still maintaining the focus on the two pilots. I also liked to prespective from Germans against the Nazi party as WWII was ramping up.

This is a must listen to anyone who enjoyed Unbroken.

As always Robertson Dean's narration was spot on!

This is the story of Franz Stigler, a German fighter pilot and Charlie Brown a B17 Eighth Air Force pilot. It is the fascinating story of how their lives intersected in December 1943 permanently altering their lives. I found this an emotional book with a similar effect on me as Laura Hildebrand's "Unbroken". It left me feeling good about people. Most of the book is about Franz Stilger's life as a child, young man and pilot commercial then military. He was a German ace and later flew the jet planes over Germany. It also covered the men of the B17 and then their hunt for each other after the war. I noted that long after the war the crew of the B17 "Ye Old Pub" received their metals- Brown, the Air Force flying Cross and the silver star for each of the crew making them the highest decorated B17 crew. Adam Makos is the editor of the military magazine Valor and came across this story during interviews with WWII pilots. He brought to life the story of a man, the air battles, the thrill of flying and the fear of living in Nazi Germany. I am sure glad he wrote the story as a book. Robertson Dean did a great job reading this book. This book is not only for us WWI and WWII history buff but for any teen or adult that is looking for a good story with moral value.

I have to admit that when I heard the introduction to this book, I was about ready to turn it off. The author's story of how he came to write it and, especially, his belief at the time the base story came to light that all German's were Nazi's in WWII left me wondering whether this could be a good listen. However, I soon forgot any misgivings and found myself immersed in the story, especially Franz's side.

The brief central story is compelling, but it's the background stories that are the most interesting. I have read other books about the air war over Europe, but learned from this book a great deal about how the air war evolved from the pilot's point of view.

I won't give out any spoilers, but this is a very interesting book that is well worth your time. I gave the "story" a 5, not because of it's prose, but because of the information it contains. The writing is fine (basically it's reporting) and the pace of the book and organization are spot on. There is an element that is overplayed in the writing, but it's not so over the top to detract from your enjoyment (I'll leave it to you to figure out what I am talking about).