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A Higher Call: An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World War II Audiobook
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Publisher Description
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.
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"Highly descriptive. I imagined I was in the cockpits of these planes, with the smell of fuel, sweat, fear and so many other sensations. Thankfully I’ve never experienced war, there’s nothing romantic about it. Thankfully they made it across the water, thankfully Franz wasn’t court martialled, and thankfully Charlie took that trip to try and discover the man who had mercy on them. May they all Rest In Peace. "
— FrankR (5 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“[A] life-or-death drama…Their story is worth retelling and celebrating.”
— USA Today -
“Beautifully told.”
— CNN -
“A truly awe inspiring story of wartime chivalry.”
— Daily Mail (London) -
“Deeply felt by its author and deeply affecting to read.”
— The Times (London) -
“An inspiring dual biography…A vividly detailed account of German fighter operations in Western Europe and the training and blooding of an American bomber crew.”
— Kirkus Reviews -
“Makos and Alexander create a vivid account of the lives of pilots during the war and recreate with riveting power their combat missions.”
— Library Journal -
“A top-notch narrative…of the German fighter pilots living on the edge and the American bomber crews, far from home, fighting to survive. The book is a riveting story.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“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.”
— Colonel Charles McGee, Tuskegee Airman, WWII -
“From the horrors of the most savage war in history emerges this beautiful story of a brotherhood between enemies. Simply told, splendid, and well worth the read.”
— Joe Galloway, coauthor of the #1 New York Times bestseller We Were Soldiers, Once…and Young -
“This book grips you like a movie. It’s part Top Gun, part Valkyrie, and more!”
— Marcus Brotherton, New York Times bestselling author -
“A Higher Call exemplifies beautifully the brotherhood of warriors and will forever change how you look at World War II.”
— Eric Blehm, New York Times bestselling author -
“‘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
Awards
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A New York Times bestseller
A Higher Call Listener Reviews
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BS - VS, 6/30/2024
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Galen, 8/19/2022
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" This is an incredible book. It has taken so much time for us Americans to get over the fact that just because you fought for the Germans in WWII, it didn't mean you were a NAZI or approved of their methods. This is a heart warming... and wrenching, delve into the humanity of the "other" side. I hope you read this book and learn a higher respect for what these young men and women did so long ago. "
— Uncle Gary, 1/14/2022 -
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Jason Bush, 11/28/2021
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Thomas Sawyers, 10/12/2020
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Elizabeth James, 4/15/2017
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" Amazing story, seriously disappointed when it was finished. "
— Jim, 11/7/2016 -
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Barry Nickell, 10/11/2015
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Terry Ramsey, 8/11/2015
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Amy Boyd, 5/31/2015
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Tim Stenson, 5/14/2015
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Kay, 4/8/2015
About Adam Makos
Adam Makos, hailed as “a masterful storyteller” by the Associated Press, is the author of the New York Times bestsellers A Higher Call and Spearhead and the critically acclaimed Devotion. Inspired by his grandfathers’ service, he chronicles the stories of American veterans in his trademark fusion of intense human drama and fast-paced military action, securing his place “in the top ranks of military writers,” according to the Los Angeles Times. In the course of his research, he has flown a World War II bomber, accompanied a Special Forces raid in Iraq, and journeyed into North Korea in search of an MIA American airman. Visit him online at AdamMakos.com and follow him on Instagram.
About Robertson Dean
Robertson Dean has played leading roles on and off Broadway and at dozens of regional theaters throughout the country. He has a BA from Tufts University and an MFA from Yale. His audiobook narration has garnered ten AudioFile Earphones Awards. He now lives in Los Angeles, where he works in film and television in addition to narrating.