This instant Sunday Times bestseller tells the story of two fighter pilots whose remarkable encounter during the Second World War 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.
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.
- Produktdetails
- Verlag: Atlantic Books
- Main
- Seitenzahl: 400
- Erscheinungstermin: 3. April 2014
- Englisch
- Abmessung: 198mm x 126mm x 32mm
- Gewicht: 404g
- ISBN-13: 9781782392569
- ISBN-10: 1782392564
- Artikelnr.: 39856023
Well worth reading... A Higher Call pounds along with the all-action rhythm its genre seems to demand, but still manages to rescue the idea of German chivalry from cliché... A Higher Call is deeply felt by its author and deeply affecting to read. Apparently humans react more sentimentally to films and books consumed on aeroplanes than on the ground. I read this at 30,000ft... but I suspect it would have ambushed my emotions anywhere. Giles Whittle The Times
Praise for A Higher Call
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
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