Amazon Prime Free Trial
FREE Delivery is available to Prime members. To join, select "Try Amazon Prime and start saving today with FREE Delivery" below the Add to Cart button and confirm your Prime free trial.
Amazon Prime members enjoy:- Cardmembers earn 5% Back at Amazon.com with a Prime Credit Card.
- Unlimited FREE Prime delivery
- Streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows with limited ads on Prime Video.
- A Kindle book to borrow for free each month - with no due dates
- Listen to over 2 million songs and hundreds of playlists
Important: Your credit card will NOT be charged when you start your free trial or if you cancel during the trial period. If you're happy with Amazon Prime, do nothing. At the end of the free trial, your membership will automatically upgrade to a monthly membership.
-44% $12.27$12.27
Ships from: Amazon.com Sold by: Amazon.com
$9.19$9.19
Ships from: Amazon Sold by: Jenson Books Inc
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Image Unavailable
Color:
-
-
-
- To view this video download Flash Player
- 2 VIDEOS
Audible sample
Follow the authors
OK
A Higher Call: An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World War II Paperback – Illustrated, May 6, 2014
Purchase options and add-ons
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.
December, 1943: A badly damaged American bomber struggles to fly over wartime Germany. At the controls is twenty-one-year-old Second Lieutenant Charlie Brown. Half his crew lay wounded or dead on this, their first mission. Suddenly, a Messerschmitt fighter pulls up on the bomber’s tail. The pilot is German ace Franz Stigler—and he can destroy the young American crew 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.”
The U.S. 8th Air Force would later classify what happened between them as “top secret.” It was an act that Franz could never mention for fear of 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 the world for each other, a last mission that could change their lives forever.
- Print length400 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherDutton Caliber
- Publication dateMay 6, 2014
- Reading age18 years and up
- Dimensions5.94 x 1.13 x 8.99 inches
- ISBN-100425255735
- ISBN-13978-0425255735
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.
Frequently bought together
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
- Of the twenty-eight thousand German fighter pilots to see combat in WWII, only twelve hundred survived the war.Highlighted by 1,161 Kindle readers
- Their code said to fight with fearlessness and restraint, to celebrate victories not death, and to know when it was time to answer a higher call.Highlighted by 1,124 Kindle readers
- Hitler and The Party took over Germany after 56 percent of the country had voted against them.Highlighted by 667 Kindle readers
Editorial Reviews
Review
“A remarkable story...worth retelling and celebrating.”—USA Today
“Beautifully told.”—CNN
“A riveting story of humanity and mercy set against the ghastly backdrop of war.”—Publishers Weekly
“Oh, it’s a good one!”—Fox News
“Deeply felt by its author and deeply affecting to read.”—The Times (London)
“A truly awe inspiring story of wartime chivalry.”—Daily Mail (London)
“Incredible.”—New York Post
“Inspiring.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Simply told, splendid, and well worth the read.”—*Joe Galloway, co-author 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, co-author of the New York Times bestseller Tough as They Come
“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.”—Colonel Charles McGee, Tuskegee Airman, WWII
“A Higher Call exemplifies beautifully the brotherhood of warriors and will forever change how you look at World War II.”—Eric Blehm, author of the New York Times bestseller, Fearless
“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
About the Author
Larry Alexander is the author of the New York Times bestselling biography Biggest Brother: The Life of Major Dick Winters, the Man Who Led the Band of Brothers. He is also the author of Shadows in the Jungle: The Alamo Scouts Behind Japanese Lines in World War II and In the Footsteps of the Band of Brothers: A Return to Easy Company's Battlefields with Sgt. Forrest Guth. Alexander has been a journalist and columnist for the Intelligencer Journal in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, for nearly twenty years and has won numerous state-level awards for excellence in journalism.
Product details
- Publisher : Dutton Caliber; Reprint edition (May 6, 2014)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 400 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0425255735
- ISBN-13 : 978-0425255735
- Reading age : 18 years and up
- Item Weight : 1.1 pounds
- Dimensions : 5.94 x 1.13 x 8.99 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #15,736 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #7 in Military Aviation History (Books)
- #16 in WWII Biographies
- #92 in World War II History (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
Videos
Videos for this product
1:18
Click to play video
A book about hope and redemption in our darkest times
One Minute Reviews
Videos for this product
3:31
Click to play video
A Higher Call
Merchant Video
About the authors
Hailed as “a masterful storyteller” by the Associated Press, Adam Makos is the author of the New York Times bestsellers "A Higher Call," and "Spearhead," as well as the critically-acclaimed "Devotion." Inspired by his grandfathers’ service, Adam 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, Adam has flown a WWII bomber, accompanied a Special Forces raid in Iraq, and journeyed into North Korea in search of an MIA American airman.
You can follow Adam's work at:
www.AdamMakos.com
Facebook, Adam Makos
Instagram: AdamMakos
Larry Alexander is a journalist and military historian who has written a number of books about World War II, most notably about Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army. Easy Company was made famous principally by Stephen Ambrose's book and the Band of Brothers (TV miniseries) of that name.
Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the story moving and compelling. They describe the book as an excellent read with well-researched information and a powerful premise. Readers appreciate the compassion, humanity, and raw emotion displayed by the characters. The book provides a great perspective of WWII from both sides' perspectives.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book engaging and well-written. They say it's a riveting read that can be read in an uninterrupted afternoon. Readers also mention it should be required reading for high school history classes as it is captivating and moving.
"...This one merits them. This well-written, well-researched book tells the story of a remarkable incident that happened in December 1943, when a..." Read more
"...This is a heart-warming, yet edge-of-the-seat true story that reads like a novel and leaves the reader wanting much more...." Read more
"Very well written book, that follows German Ace Franz Stigler in his career as first a civilian pilot with the precursor to Lufthansa, then later a..." Read more
"...The book is very good but not enough to give it 5 stars...." Read more
Customers find the story moving and fascinating. They appreciate the well-documented tale of bravery during a brutal war. The stories of these two pilots are captivating and riveting. Readers find the complex intertwining of lives compelling and suspenseful. Overall, it's a great background novel for these two men and their lives leading up to the war.
"...Coincidentally, both tell a true story from World War II ... Unbroken tells of Louis Zamperini who survived to tell about his adventures as a US..." Read more
"...The book tells the story of Steigler from his interest in aviation as a boy ( his father was a WW I pilot) to his stint as a Lufthansa airline pilot..." Read more
"...The final chapter of this book was the most moving ending to a WW 2 book that I have ever read." Read more
"My God, what a book! Adam Makos with Larry Alexander bring us this harrowing and chivalrous story of two World War II Air Forces...." Read more
Customers find the book informative and eye-opening. They appreciate the well-researched story and thorough descriptions of WWII era planes. The premise is powerful, and the writing style is exceptional. Readers mention the book has some merit.
"...This one merits them. This well-written, well-researched book tells the story of a remarkable incident that happened in December 1943, when a..." Read more
"...but an excellent carefully researched true story...." Read more
"...The gruesome scenes are visually stunning and the right words are poetic in their ability to make you feel the intensity of the horrific aerial duels..." Read more
"...Other than that, I feel that Makos has written a well-balanced and poignant account that encompasses on a very intimate level the threads of so many..." Read more
Customers find the book heartwarming. They appreciate the compassion, humanity, and emotion depicted by both German and American heroes. The act of mercy and kindness are praised. Readers also mention the vivid details of love, heartbreak, and the absolute humanity portrayed by both sides.
"...history books as a German flying ace, but for me it was that one act of human kindness, of human compassion, that made him a hero...." Read more
"...They fought with honor and with a knights chivalry throughout the war...." Read more
"...of courage, focused and strategic aggression, along with honor and compassion...." Read more
"...This is not a "fast read". There's action, of course. Raw emotion...." Read more
Customers appreciate the book's perspective on WWII from both sides. They find it a moving and honest portrayal of human nature in war, with accurate combat descriptions from the warriors themselves. The story does not glorify war, but rather shows the reality of aerial combat from the perspective of two men.
"...The reader is taken into the frightening, and yet all too real world of aerial combat from the perspective of two men who were representing their..." Read more
"...This is not a "fast read". There's action, of course. Raw emotion...." Read more
"...They defended their country and countrymen...." Read more
"...interesting perspectives that are not commonly known and appreciation for those who served and those who did not survive the horrors of WW II...." Read more
Customers appreciate the well-developed characters. They find the characters admirable and real people with human qualities. The characters become friends as they read, and the personal lives of both main characters are portrayed before the war. Franz Stigler is described as an extraordinary man of integrity.
"...The book humanizes both men, showing them as enemies but as decent people. If you get the book, be sure to read the introduction...." Read more
"...No, it's also about both sides fighting with courage and perseverance, while maintaining a healthy respect for each other...." Read more
"...air combat in Europe and the people who fought on both sides. What did they do? How and why did they do it?..." Read more
"...and upbringing, he would become a fantastic and most of all, a respectable pilot...." Read more
Customers appreciate the book's insight into pilots during World War II. They find the story compelling and relatable, describing the sacrifices made by each pilot to stay alive. Readers praise the humanity and chivalry of one fighter pilot. The book details the commitment of both sides' pilots to their countries and missions. Overall, it serves as a great account of the Luftwaffe/8th Air Force.
"...The description of Charlie's flight crew members is wonderful and you can actually picture them from the authors description along with what their..." Read more
"...Fascinating, and so was the background of the bomber pilot...." Read more
"...It shows how the fighter pilots REALLY felt...." Read more
"...That aside, it was a fascinating look at WWII aviation, by a person who clearly knows what he is talking about...." Read more
Customers appreciate the book's value for money. They say it's a worthwhile purchase for WWII enthusiasts, a valuable addition to their collection, and worth the price of admission.
"...This is a very good book and is worth the cost and the time to read...." Read more
"...It doesn't need it! HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book!" Read more
"...history buff then I can heartily recommend this book as worthy addition to your collection." Read more
"Any reasonable hack can make a good book if the story is good enough...." Read more
Reviews with images
A Paean to Franz Stigler
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
- Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2024I don't believe in automatically giving everything five stars, especially books. This one merits them. This well-written, well-researched book tells the story of a remarkable incident that happened in December 1943, when a heavily damaged American B-17, piloted by 2nd Lt. Charlie Brown, encountered a German BF-109 piloted by ace Franz Stigler, in the skies above Oldenburg, Germany. What happened next (I won't spoil it) is testament to the fact that human decency can be found even in the middle of war.
The book's main character--dare I say it, hero-- is Stigler, and the story follows his career as a pilot from childhood, as a commercial pilot, as a fighter pilot in the Luftwaffe of WWII, through the end of the war and beyond. It discusses the commanders and colleagues who influenced him and his approach to flying. (I would like to note that Stigler was never a Nazi, nor were most men in the regular military; in fact, the Nazis were disliked and resented, but also feared.) The book later introduces our second protagonist, Charlie Brown, a 21-year-old rookie pilot on his first combat mission, and his crew. We get to know both Franz and Charlie as they progress through their WWII careers and experience the challenges and successes, failures and terrors of flying combatants. The book humanizes both men, showing them as enemies but as decent people.
If you get the book, be sure to read the introduction. It's worthwhile and provides context.
I first learned about Charlie and Franz and their encounter through the Sabaton song "No Bullets Fly." If you want to know what "A Higher Call" is about before reading, check it out on YouTube (the story version!). YarnHub on YouTube has a somewhat more fleshed-out version. There are other videos examining the incident, and you can find articles, etc. by searching.
- Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2013Every now and then I cross paths with a book that strikes a chord somewhere deep within me, a book that shares my waking hours and my sleep. This is one of those books, as was Laura Hillenbrand's Unbroken. Coincidentally, both tell a true story from World War II ... Unbroken tells of Louis Zamperini who survived to tell about his adventures as a US pilot in the Pacific, subsequent capture and imprisonment by the Japanese." A Higher Call: An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World War II" tells of two pilots, one German and one American who meet high in the skies over Germany on December 20th, 1943. Both of these books will stay with me, I am sure, for a lifetime. A Higher Call grabbed me and simply won't let go.
December 20, 1943, in the skies over Bremen, Germany. Charlie Brown is the pilot of a B17 bomber, just finishing a raid on an aircraft production facility. His plane has been hit multiple times by German flak. It was missing a rudder and had sustained serious damage to its hydraulic and electrical systems, not to mention that only one engine out of four was functioning at peak, one crew member was dead and several others seriously injured, and now Charlie faces flying through enemy flak to get north of Germany over the North Sea and back to Great Britain, a feat beyond all imaginings. Suddenly from behind he spots a German fighter plane and Charlie knows he and his crew have no chance to survive if the fighter shoots so much as a rock launched from a slingshot at their plane. This edge-of-the-seat action enhances, but does not dominate the story. The pilot in the German Bf109 is Franz Stigler, a man who joined the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) to avenge his brother's death. One look at the B17 and Stigler knew it didn't stand a chance. He remembered the words of his former leader and mentor, Gustav Roedel, who had once told Franz, "you score victories, not kills ... you shoot at a machine not a man", and decided in less time than it took the thought to form that he not only couldn't shoot down that crippled bomber but that he would do everything he could to save the men inside. There were two dangers to this, but Stigler barely registered them. The first, of course, was that the bomber would fire on him first and knock him out of the sky (he didn't know that the bomber's guns were frozen, all but the turret gun whose range was so limited that he was never really in any danger from that). But the other, perhaps greater danger was that if the German command ever found out that he had the chance to dispatch this bomber and didn't, he could be court-martialed and sentenced to death. On Stigler's mind at that moment in time, however, was how he could keep the crew on this bomber from either being sent to a fiery death by German flak or an icy death in the North Sea. Ultimately, he led them through the German flak and left them over the North Sea with a salute and a prayer that they could stay safe. And it is in this one episode that Franz Stigler became a hero in my book. He would go on to fight some 487 missions in the war and is now in history books as a German flying ace, but for me it was that one act of human kindness, of human compassion, that made him a hero.
Though the book centers around the heroic acts of Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler in the air over Germany that day, the event itself actually occupies less than 4% (15 pages out of 368) of the book. Had I realized this in the beginning, I might never have bought the book and that would have been my loss. The bulk of the book follows Stigler's career and rise as a flying ace throughout the war and it is from this that I, who have nursed a hatred of all things pertaining to the German military almost since my birth, came to realize that not every soldier in Germany was a Nazi and not every soldier in Germany lacked a heart. The Luftwaffe, or German Air Force, in this book is shown to be no less human than any man in the USAF or any other branch of the Allied military. Overwhelmingly, the Luftwaffe were NOT members of the Nazi Party and did NOT support Hitler and his programs. They were simply there to do their jobs and defend their nation and its people. In fact, most were not aware of Hitler's "Final Solution" (the extermination of Jews) and the death camps until near the end of the war. For the most part Germans, including the Luftwaffe, were as afraid of the SS (Gestapo) as were we.
Many years after the end of the war, both Brown and Stigler wondered what had become of one another. Neither knew the other's name, yet neither had forgotten that strange encounter in the skies over Germany. Eventually they would have their reunion and become brothers not of shared blood, but of shared life. Notably, though fifty years had passed since the end of WWII, once this story became public, Franz Stigler began receiving hate mail, presumably from Germans who felt that he should have blown Charlie and his crew out of the sky. I guess hatred is in no danger of becoming extinct any time soon.
This is Adam Makos' first published book, though he has been editor of the military magazine Valor, for some fifteen years, and frankly I was intrigued when I read a synopsis of the storyline, but was not expecting great writing from this first-time author. I was wrong. The writing is as seamless and spell-binding as almost any I have read. This is a heart-warming, yet edge-of-the-seat true story that reads like a novel and leaves the reader wanting much more. Sadly, both Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler died in 2008. However there are photos and video clips of their reunion some 50 years later on the author's website: [...]. If you read no other non-fiction book this year, do yourself a favor and read this one. It will stay in your mind and in your heart for a good long time, maybe forever.
- Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2024Very well written book, that follows German Ace Franz Stigler in his career as first a civilian pilot with the precursor to Lufthansa, then later a fighter pilot in ME 109s during WW II.
Not to give away the plot (which other reviews have !) , but an excellent carefully researched true story.
As a companion book, I highly recommend "The Final Hours: A German Jet Pilot Plots Against Goering",
written by Johannes Steinhoff, a German jet pilot flying the ME -262, the first operational jet fighter at the end of WWII. Franz Stigler and "Mackie" Steinhoff paths cross many times at the end of WWII, and "The Final Hours" is highly recommended too.
I own both books in hardcover editions, with excellent photographs in each book..
Top reviews from other countries
-
MassimoReviewed in Italy on January 22, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Imperdibile
Un libro davvero imperdibile per gli appassionati del genere. Non tanto per l'episodio centrale (che alla fine occupa un paio di capitoli) quanto per la storia del pilota tedesco che svela come una intera generazione finì nel tritacarne della IIGM senza essere minimamente nazista ma ciononostante combatté fino all'ultimo per una causa che sapeva persa da tempo. Molto interessante anche il racconto delle ultime fasi del conflitto quando la Luftwaffe iniziò ad impiegare i primi aerei a reazione Me262
- Patrick RiemaekerReviewed in Belgium on January 16, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars A must have book
Incredible story …
- Aldric ShaunReviewed in India on July 8, 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolute eye opener
Diverging from the usual narrative of the allies being the good guys and the axis being the bad, this book really humanizes the war as it is being narrated from the perspectives of both sides. A real must read and had me hooked since the beginning.
-
BarbaraReviewed in Spain on June 3, 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars Transmite la vida de los pilotos en el frente
Muy buen libro. Transmite la vida de dos pilotos de la segunda guerra mundial, especialmente la de Franz Stigler, y las condiciones y peculiaridades con las que vivían y combatían.
El suceso protagonista del libro es impactante tanto cuando ocurre, como los hechos que le suceden tras la guerra.
Consigue transmitir muchas de las emociones de los combatientes y ayuda a entender el porqué de sus actos, así como la Alemania de antes, durante y después de la guerra.
-
Bruno MansoReviewed in Brazil on March 13, 2019
5.0 out of 5 stars O que o mundo precisa ampliar
É um momento da história que deve ser divulgado para os quatro cantos do mundo. Precisamos ampliar o dever de sermos verdadeiros seres humanos e abandonarmos as atitudes que nos transformam em monstros seja em tempos de guerra ou de paz.
Excelente trabalho