Book Review - A Higher Call

Simply put - this is a must read for any history buff and fan of WWII. Four days before Christmas 1943, a badly damaged American bomber struggled to fly over wartime Germany and make its way back to England. At its controls was a 21 year old pilot, Charlie Brown. Half of his crew lay wounded or dead. It was their first mission. Suddenly on their tail appeared a German Messerschmitt fighter. Worse, the German pilot needed one kill to earn a distinguished metal. The American bomber was a sitting duck.

What happened next is something right out of Hollywood. It has been described as the most incredible encounter between enemies in WWII. The story of Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler is excellently told by Adam Makos. A Higher Call follows the journeys of both Brown and Stigler from pre to post war. It gives a unique and often untold story of most German people and pilots during the war.

The encounter was a story Stigler could never tell during the war in fear of facing a firing squad. The Americans on the other hand classified it as “top secret” and paid it little mind. It was an encounter that would haunt both men for forty years until, as old men, they would find each other and bring the story to light.

If there is one WWII book to read this summer this is the one.