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    A Higher Call: The Incredible True Story of Heroism and Chivalry during the Second World War
    Unavailable
    A Higher Call: The Incredible True Story of Heroism and Chivalry during the Second World War
    Unavailable
    A Higher Call: The Incredible True Story of Heroism and Chivalry during the Second World War
    Ebook518 pages8 hours

    A Higher Call: The Incredible True Story of Heroism and Chivalry during the Second World War

    By Adam Makos

    4.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    This instant Sunday Times bestseller tells the story of two fighter pilots whose remarkable encounter during World War II became the stuff of legend.

    Five days before Christmas 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. Suddenly a German Messerschmitt fighter pulled up on the bomber's tail - the German pilot was an ace, a man able to destroy the American bomber with the squeeze of a trigger. This is the true story of the two pilots whose lives collided in the skies that day - the American - 2nd Lieutenant Charlie Brown and the German - 2nd Lieutenant Franz Stigler.

    A Higher Call follows both Charlie and Franz's harrowing missions and gives a dramatic account of the moment when they would stare across the frozen skies at one another. What happened between them, the American 8th Air Force would later classify as 'top secret'. It was an act that Franz could never mention or else face a firing squad. It was the encounter that would haunt both Charlie and Franz for forty years until, as old men, they would seek out one another and reunite.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAtlantic Books
    Release dateApr 15, 2013
    ISBN9781782392552
    Unavailable
    A Higher Call: The Incredible True Story of Heroism and Chivalry during the Second World War

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    Reviews for A Higher Call

    4.5/5

    165 ratings20 reviews

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    • 5/5
      great book - incredible story. gave me new insight to the other side of the war
    • 5/5
      By far an amazing true story of two 'enemies' during WWII. BUT it is also much more. The author does a wonderful job detailing the war and the many other people that are part of this story. I appreciated how he reminded the reader of the chronology of the war and these two pilots, so you don't get lost. The author researched this story with great attention to detail and it shows. He adds many 'nuggets of interest' that he could only get by visiting and interviewing the people that played a part. The book easily held my interest to the point I was sad for it to end. Definitely looking forward to the next book by Makos.
    • 5/5
      On December 20, 1943, an American B-17 is trying to escape a mauling by FW-190's and ME-109's to reach the North Sea and eventually its base in England. As they approach the coast and the flack batteries while flying slowly and at low altitude, an additional terror comes from behind. A Me-109 closes in for the kill but their tail gunner is dead and only one turret is working.The German flier does not shoot as he sees their plane is missing its rudder, most of its stabilizers and has holes all over the fuselage include its front perspex shot away. He can see wounded men through the holes and one engine is dead and others seem to be damaged. He wonders, "How is this plane flying?' After failing to make the American pilot understand he wants him to land in Germany or Sweden, he salutes him and turns back into Germany.The bomber struggles across the water with its wounded and is eventually is found by friendly P-47's who guide it to a an American base where it lands safely. This was the crews first mission.Years later both men start to search for the other and 46 years later find one another and learn why each man did what he did that day.Most of the book is a biography of both pilots and in the German flier's case, Franz Stigler, a history of Germany and its air force under the control of the Nazi regime. Descriptions of the consequences of flying accidents are graphically described. As Stigler, flew the ME-262, we are given a vivid description of what it was like to fly early jets and the immense risk a pilot took to do so.Stigler was one of Germany's greatest aces and he knew and flew with all the great German aces such as Galland, Steinhoff, and Backhorn. He moved to Canada in the 1950's to work on the Avro Arrow but could not get security clearance so he became a diesel mechanic in the British Columbia forest industry.There are some incident describes in which some of the German fliers took great risks in sometimes challenging Hitler and Goering by not following their orders. Five of the top pilots at one point, demanded Goering resign because he was not supplying enough equipment and fuel to the fighter squadrons to battle the bombers. After the meeting, the all awaited the SS to show up to shoot them.Through the descriptions of what their families experienced from the bombing and food shortages, the fliers give us a bleak picture of life in Germany after 1942.
    • 5/5
      Another great story from WWII with lines reaching to the present. I appreciated the realistic portrayal of the Luftwaffe warts and all, and following the career of a single German pilot from start to end, up to the present. It has epic qualities that shows the rising and falling fortunes of the German military. The act of "Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies" makes up a small part of the book but gives it narrative structure and purpose. Fortunately the narrative is worth reading regardless of the chivalric incident, and it's written with cinematic/novelistic qualities that gets better to the tearful ending. I try to imagine if the tables were turned and it was an American fighter pilot and German bomber returning from England.. would we feel as warm and loving towards this story? Probably not since it would require a more pacifist mindset, one in which compassion comes before winning, which is a rarer and finer thing as seen in the character of Franz Stigler.
    • 4/5
      A wonderful job of research into the lives of two men who were thrust together in war and managed to survive under incredible circumstances. Hard to believe that it all happened and was recorded. It gives authentic, behind the scenes peeks into the real lives of fighter pilots during WWII and the humanity that existed on both sides.
    • 5/5
      A rare true story of Honer
    • 4/5
      Really an excellent book. Written by a journalist it is a bit light on documentation but the story is a powerful one of courage and dedication to a cause. The inside look at the German Air Force during WWII was fascinating. For the concept of chivalry to remain so strong while in the midst of the "total war" of the 1940's is amazing. I learned a lot about the very early days of jet powered combat aircraft. The emotional reunion of the two pilots so long after the war reads like a Hollywood script. Maybe someday we will see this story on the "big screen".
    • 5/5
      A dual biography of Franz Stigler (ME-109 pilot) and Charlie Brown, (B-17 pilot.) The two meet over Germany and both survive to the end of the war and meet nearly 50 years later. The story includes a very personal look at the air war over Europe and Africa and how the German people lived their lives during the war, under Hitler and Goering. It's mostly about Stigler. Like "Panzer Commander" by Hans von Luck, it added credence to the German fighting man's perspective of WWII...much like any soldier's perspective...in it for our country, for our buddies....not the political leadership.The book was recommended to me as a could-not-put-it-down read by an introspective US Marine...
    • 4/5
      A dual biography of Franz Stigler and Charlie Brown, M109/ME 262 pilot and B-17 pilot. The reason for the story was an incident where Brown and his crew were incredibly shot up. Stigler intercepted alone after Brown managed to escape a bevy of fighters and the drop zone with all it's flack. But, Brown still needed to get over the coast flack batteries and he had lost a lot of altitude he could not regain. Stigler intercepted, saw the incredible amount of damage, the wounded men, and that the plane was defenseless before him. Instead of shooting them down he dropped in formation wing to wing and flew them over the flack batteries so they would not shoot when they saw it was shepherded by a German fighter plane. Because of his actions Brown's crew lived through the war except for one man was had already been killed.

      The above forms the reason the book was written when the men met each other 47 years later and the story broke in the media. But the book is much more than just this incident. Stigler had an amazing fighter pilot career and flew with, and instructed some of the best in Africa, Italy, and Germany. He was an ace several times over. Brown also continued to fly and his story is interesting but he was never in the same high level positions as Stigler.

      Did Stigler do the right thing? You might think you know the answer. But, reading the book will provide the facts from Stigler's and Brown's perspective to decide.
    • 5/5
      I absolutely loved, loved, loved this book, for so many reasons. First, it's a fast and suspenseful read. I had a hard time putting it down. Second, the author is a good writer. I know nothing about airplanes (and previously did not find them all that interesting), but the author describes them in layman's terms - to the point where I now feel as though I could identify some WWII aircraft, just from his descriptions. He also does a good job describing the somewhat large cast of characters. Finally, this book puts a decent face on what I perceived as the faceless Nazi Air Force. I had no idea that many Luftwaffe pilots were not members of the Nazi Party. In general, I had assumed that the majority of the German military were Hitler-worshipping fascists, but I learned that this was never the case. Many high-ranking members of the Luftwaffe were decent, anti-Party men who knew the war was over long before they were able to surrender. And of course, the main German character in this book, Franz Stigler, was a man of courage and integrity. The book starts by following Franz's life, and then we are introduced to Charlie Brown, the American bomber pilot who silently interacted with Franz. The lead-up to their meeting in the skies over Germany was among the more suspenseful book scenes I've ever read. It was almost hard to read, since the men were forced to face unimaginable horrors. (Note: This is sort of a spoiler alert - but not really, since we know the two lived through the war from the book's foreword.) The reunion of the two men late in the book made me cry. Their search for each other and their eventual meet-up was really stirring. I highly recommend this book. One note: There aren't too many pictures in this book, but I did find them too small on the Kindle. However, a quick Google image search will net you most of the pictures anyway, so this did not detract from the book.
    • 5/5
      A well paced narrative non-fiction that is at once entertaining, informative and heart wrenching. Keeping an even tone, even as he notes events of the most emotional and incredible description, Makos lays out the stories of two WWII enemy pilots, their personal and military circumstances and an incredible, fateful event that ties them together for life. One of the best aspects of this book, however, is the background information and cameo-like appearances of other characters and acts of gallantry, each one an important addition to the overall tale. An excellent historical novel full of life that clearly defines the German air force pilots as separate from "the Party" and Nazism, and highlighting acts of humanity, heroism and the pilot's code of chivalry. Highly recommended.
    • 3/5
      The germ of a this book was a magazine article. There was a lot of technical information -as someone who is not savvy about the different airplanes, it took a long time to get to the event of December 20 and even more time for these men to finally meet. It was a slow, but interesting story.
    • 5/5
      This is a great book about a little known event that occurred during bomber war over Europe prior to the D-Day invasion of WWII. German fighter aircraft tired to exterminate Allied bombers. This was a no holds barred no quarter given battle to the death. In this fight an American bomber was shot up and at the mercy of an ace German fighter pilot seeking revenge. This is the story of what happened during the encounter and what happened afterward. This is a n amazingly well written biography of two enemies, armies. The story includes a very personal look at the air war over Europe and Africa.
      The book will appeal to people interested pre war Germany. Those interested interested the attitudes of the German professional solider and those interested the air tactic and performance of the aircraft of the period. This is a book worth buying.
    • 5/5
      Primarily the story of a German fighter Ace during WW2 this books centers around an incident in which Franz Stigler flying an FW 109 spares a defenseless B-17 with Charlie Brown as the pilot returning from a mission over Germany. It chronicals both pilots lives during and after the war but the focus is on Stigler. A first rate story.
    • 5/5
      An excellent read. Very few books on World War II give such a balanced and human account of both sides of the conflict.
    • 4/5
      Good story, sufficiently documented and nicely told. One of the few happy endings to a WW2 air battle.
    • 5/5
      This unusual book tells the story of World War II, from the perspective of a German hero, Franz Stigler, a boy who once wanted to become a priest but whose love of flying led him, instead, to become a fighter pilot, a flying ace, whose act of mercy saved the life of an American soldier. He never joined the Nazi party nor did members of his family. His brother was a suspected member of the underground. While I always knew that not all Germans were supporters of Hitler or members of the National Socialist Party, I had rarely given them the benefit of the doubt, excusing their behavior because they had no other choice. Reading this book, I realized that many Germans may have had no other choice but to obey Hitler’s edicts. To do otherwise and defy Hitler would probably have led to their own death in the same brutal way as Hitler’s other victims died, in the Concentration Camps that Hitler called work camps, retraining facilities, exemplary examples of the way a prison should treat its prisoners, but in fact they were little more than torture chambers. Still, with so vast a number of people disappearing, it still defies my imagination to believe that many Germans were unaware of something awfully wrong going on in their country. To be sure, there were noble resistance groups, and they sacrificed their own lives, hoping to save the lives of others who were being persecuted, trying to take a stand against evil and not supporting the Nazi effort simply because they were ordered to or had to or felt nationalism for their country. To me, not supporting Hitler’s policies, but supporting the war by lending an effort to fight or by turning a blind eye to the plight of his victims, was meaningless. It simply meant that if Hitler succeeded, whether or not one agreed with him, their compliance would have guaranteed his remaining in power and his hateful policies against certain people would have continued as would his heinous violence and genocide.Reading about the bravery of the German soldiers, reading about their fears and their concerns, their losses and their suffering humanized this enemy of the past, to a far greater degree than any other recounting of the history had done for me before, but it remained hard for me to find it in my heart to empathize with those who attacked innocent people for the sake of their Fatherland, regardless of whether or not they supported the Nazis and Hitler. As I read of the plight of these people who were suffering from a lack of supplies and food, who were living in bombed out buildings, I felt little sympathy. Their plight was a result of their duly elected leader’s behavior. While others were being piled onto cattle cars and sent to their death, marched to gas chambers, humiliated by their nakedness, taunted, starved, beaten, and enslaved, terrified of what awaited them, helpless in the face of their enemies, for little more than their beliefs, not their actions, these same Germans were turning a blind eye, saving their own skins from the person they, themselves, put in power. Hitler’s reign of terror brought Germany down and the Germans were complicit, even if it was just in their silence.Putting politics aside, the book is marvelous in what it does. It conflicts the reader often, since the traumatic events Stigler encountered as he fought for his country, watching his friends die, being shot down, losing members of his family, may cause the reader to hope this noble pilot survives, often forgetting he was the enemy of America and the Allies; he was a German pilot fighting to exalt his Fatherland, and so, while the reader may pull back a bit and rethink what he/she knows and what he/she has learned in the past., the reality of the Holocaust will often stop the reader from becoming too sympathetic to the German’s eventual suffering. They reaped what they sowed. If, perhaps, forgiveness is not possible, a greater understanding is probably more achievable. The book absolutely presents a more human side of the war from the German viewpoint; it does humanize the soldier there, exposing him to be the same as soldiers everywhere, dedicated to their fellow countrymen, dedicated to their country, loyal to their cause, but also simply frightened young men obeying orders. As I read (I actually listened to an audio version), I tried to be more tolerant and to glimpse behind the scenes of war, to the character of the soldiers and to the landscape of their backgrounds. Some of them, soldiers and officers, were fine men, noble men of purpose who respected the rule of war and did not support Hitler’s Nazi hatred. The soldiers in the German armed forces were trained to follow orders, even when they disagreed, as they area in all countries armed forces. At one point in the narrative, the author seems to be telling the reader that the German soldier actually behaved more ethically on the field of battle, not shooting down the paratroopers as they escaped from their wrecked and burning planes, even as the Americans did that to prevent their enemy from returning to fight them another day, and actually, isn’t that what this books is really about, the life that the German soldier saved the day he did not shoot down his enemy, the kill that would have earned him his Knight’s Cross, the day he realized they were all soldiers following orders and they all deserved to live, the day he did not shoot the pilot and crew in the severely damaged plane, but saluted them and let them return to England! He could have been court-martialed. There were several instances of that kind of bravery mentioned in the book which will give the reader pause. The day that Stigler let the American survive to fight another day was never publicized by the pilot or the crew he saved. It was forbidden to speak about it for fear it would damage the morale of the pilots who might think their German counterparts would spare them. In the end, America admitted they had made a mistake in hiding this act of German bravery and the men who made it back to safety were awarded medals, sometimes posthumously, many decades later. In the mid 80’s, a series of reunions took place and as the American pilot began having nightmares of that fateful day during the war, he began to search for the German pilot. He placed ads in the serviceman’s newsletters and since both were searching for each other, and both read the same newsletter, fate brought them together so they could finally meet. The book made it seem as if the military was a separate part of this fight, separated from the SS and Hitler’s demons. It made the German officers, who commanded the fighter pilots, out to be gentlemen who insisted that their soldiers engage in fair play towards enemy soldiers so that they would be treated as well, if they were shot down or captured. When one officer found more than 130 prisoners of war in Buchenwald, he immediately arranged for their freedom and they do owe their lives to him for they were scheduled for extermination, only a few days later. In fairness, some Germans did what they could in their own heroic way, even as they continued to fight Hitler’s war. Here-to-fore, I would not have believed that such civilized behavior would be possible from a German soldier in Hitler’s military. Hitler’s brutality knew no bounds, and I would have assumed the soldiers would follow in his footsteps. Instead, another view is presented on these pages, and if the reader can find it in his mind and heart to absorb this story and believe it, it might help to revise their overall opinion of the Germans, during that time. The soldiers felt the same camaraderie as ours did. They were nationalistic, and as they were engaged in fighting, they only heard the propaganda put out by the government, as the citizens did. To think other than that which they were force fed, was subversion, treason and it was punishable by death. There was little opportunity to fight back, because they had allowed Hitler to usurp too much power, slowly, using thugs and madmen in his effort to expand the size and scope of Germany’s influence. They loved their homeland even if they did not love Hitler. Let’s hope that no other country makes that mistake again.
    • 5/5
      Random Thoughts Could not stop listening to this I was hooked in from the very first paragraph Won't lie, I really don't do a lot of non-fiction, but one of my customers insisted that I had to read this and I promised I would (Probably would have been a while to read, but saw it on the new arrivals for my library so I downloaded it right away for listening to) Half way through listening I was already telling everyone that they had to read it - sold 3 copies at work as well and made it a Staff Pick and hadn't even finished listening to it (co-workers joking with me that they never thought they would see a non-fic Staff Pick from me) Book is really staying with me and wanting to read more non fiction about this period of history Think its an important read. I spent a great deal of my childhood with my German next door neighbor ( I still dream about her Goulash and Spaetzle) , so I truly understood that not all Germans were Nazi's, but even with that, I really didn't understand what the German people went through Reads like fiction (this is very impressive as much of the non-fiction I have been exposed to has been very dry) Hey Makos - think maybe you should teach some history Had me crying on many occasions for men, who in all honesty, may have tried to shoot down my grandfather and uncles Really made me think and ponder about war and my preconceived notions and prejudices Listened to it for free - but will be picking up a copy to keep and to pass on to others to read Cannot wait to hear what indigogreenroom thinks about it - we must talk about this Cammy, I want to hear your thoughts I would love to have a print of the painting mentioned in the book for my house (researched a little and it was like $3000 - hey if you got some extra cash, you could buy it for me since I cannot afford - love my bookstore job, but it pays crap LOL!) What happened to the Jews during WWII is so overwhelming and must be focused on that we often forget (and lets face it hard not to focus on) what the German people faced as well. Such a hard thing to discuss. I can see how many people might have a hard time reading considering their own, and their families, experiences Author takes a small (but so beautiful moment) and turns it into a thought provoking fascinating history lesson and glimpse into two very different, yet so similar, brave men who fought for what they believed in, yet kept themselves human in a inhumane world Honest to god, I was never bored. You have to understand how miraculous this is. I'm the type of girl who reads to escape and have fun at this point of my life ( I got kids and work PT - I need to relax somehow) and rarely read non-fiction. Hope the customer comes back in who sold me on this book I was on the edge of my seat during many of the battle scenes The reunion scenes made me ball like a little baby - thank goodness I was walking the dog during this part. Had to pick up my son at Kindergarten 20 minutes after I finished listening and my eyes were still red Thoroughly researched Appreciated how Makos talked about (introduction) about never wanting to hear about the "enemies" experiences, but how after talking with Stiegler, changed his mind and it changed his life Why are you still reading this all over the place review, go grab yourself a copy and than give me a shout so we can talk about it Learned so much about how the Nazi's came to power. Most of my history teachers were dull as shit so I cannot remember if they talked about this or not. Had no idea that so many of the German people opposed Hitler and especially how much the Airforce tried to fight against Hitler and the party To put it simply as the author does in one point "Can good men be found on both sides of a bad war?" This is how we should teach history people Only problem about listening to audio books that it is a total pain in the ass to do quotes Memorable Quotes/Passages"Every single time you go up, you'll be outnumbered. Those odds may make a man want to fight dirty to survive. But let what I'm about to say to you act as a warning. Honor is everything here. What will you do, Stigler, for instance, if you find your enemy floating in a parachute?""I guess I've never thought that far ahead yet," Franz said."If I ever see or hear of you shooting at a man in a parachute," Rödel said, "I will shoot you down myself. You follow the rules of war for you, not for your enemy. You fight by the rules to keep your humanity.""In 1940, I lost my only brother as a night fighter. On the 20th of December, 4 days before Christmas, I had the chance to save a B-17 from her destruction, a plane so badly damaged it was a wonder that she was still flying.The pilot, Charlie Brown, is for me, as precious as my brother was." 5 Dewey's I borrowed the audio book from the Calgary Public Library - but I am buying a copy
    • 4/5
      The meeting – in the air over Germany in 1943 – of Franz Stigler and Charlie Brown was to join them together forever, even though they didn’t meet again for decades. An act of chivalry by the German Messerschmitt pilot saved the lives of the B-17 pilot and his remaining crew – and that act turns on its head the meaning of the word “enemies.” A Higher Call gives a view of the German Air Force different than what I’ve read in the many books about the air war in Europe, and the Eighth Air Force in particular. And A Higher Call offers a new point of view – for me anyway -- about the German air force. Although I enjoyed this book, I was disappointed on several levels. The sourcing was almost non-existent. (I understand that sourcing expectations are different for journalists than for academic historians, but I thought the dearth of back notes was startling.) If there was a copy editor involved at any point, it wasn’t evident to me. A Higher Call was without an index. And I thought the endless detail about Franz Stigler’s life before and after the event that is at the book’s center was too, too much. I would have been more interested in the historical antecedents of Franz’s chivalrous act, which would have given his actions more context. Though I grant that it was more Franz’s story than Charlie’s, I think more about Charlie’s life before and after the war could have been included. With those caveats, I recommend A Higher Call to anyone who’s interested in reading about World War II, the European Theater, or the Eighth Air Force.
    • 5/5
      Read it! Awesome. How often I've wished for some German history in my WWII readings. This is a great story. Even though the "higher call" climax is just one chapter, Franz's life and history with the German Luftwaffe was incredible to hear and really does give pause to the overall Germans-all-bad, Americans-all-good ideas of that time. I wish we had more tales from the German point of view spoken in English. Funny, I had put this book at the bottom of my read list because the storyline itself sounded a little ...um... non-exciting? or I don't know... just seemed like there were probably lots of Germans and Americans who were good people and helped each other out. Turned out this is a fabulous book and an easy read. Great narrator too. If I could give it more stars I would.