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A Higher Call
- An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World War II
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 13 hrs and 22 mins
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A Higher Call
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Publisher's Summary
THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER: “Beautifully told.”—CNN • “A remarkable story…worth retelling and celebrating.”—USA Today • “Oh, it’s a good one!”—Fox News
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.
What the critics say
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- G Kozroski
- 2021-02-28
Inspiring and heart rending.
Books this powerful are rare. We are taken along on a terrifying trip through the sky in World War Two alongside men who rose to challenges unimagined by today’s soft society. Great writing and narrating.
We can honour these men.
The loss of lives and the destruction of Europe must be remembered as we become more willing to ignore truth. We must partner across pathetic tribal divisions. Our future could be terrific if we mount similar massive efforts to improve the world rather than bicker over the right way to do it.
See “Twilight of Democracy” by Applebaum.
Thank you for this book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Roberta W
- 2022-09-04
A truly incredible story
How these two ‘enemy’ lives intersected during a chance encounter in WWII, one saving the life of the other, is remarkable enough… but for them to both live long lives and eventually meet and become friends is stunning. Heartwarming.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ben
- 2019-12-08
Worth Every Dollar!!
I wasn't sure if I should spend my Credit on this book, but I'm so glad I got it. Would reccomend it. Narrator starts slow, but once I got into the story I appreciated his abilty to read the story and make it interesting.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Mike
- 2020-07-16
amazing
fantastic book, you won't be disappointed. I couldn't stop listening once I started. I will listen to it again for sure
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Lorraine C.
- 2022-11-11
Remarkable!
I feel compelled to review, which I normally don’t! The remarkable …almost re-enactment, of a horrific time in our history! I couldn’t stop listening! Ironically finishing this morning …Remembrance Day🌺
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Oleg Pochikaev
- 2023-10-31
Fantastic story
I was fascinated by the story and listened to the book in just a couple of days. Couldn’t stop listening. Great story of human kindness. I wish we had no wars on our planet.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 2018-06-15
incredible, jaw dropping.
jaw dropping was not an understatement. this reading had me holding my breath! what an excellent book and story!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 2019-08-22
sad but amazing true story
An inspirational true story that should be listened to or read in every school. Seldom does the German side of ww2 get talked about or brought out into the light. A must listen for any one
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Liv- Buyer and lover of this book
- 2021-11-18
incredible
I absolutely loved this book. It is a real tear jerker and so humbling. written so well and narrated extremely well. this narrator did an amazing job, I really like how he distinguished the dialogue and changed his voice based on who was talking. it made things much less confusing and easy to follow along. I will most definitely listen to this book again. 15/10!!
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- Dave
- 2018-11-15
Great book
What a great story!!!! Highly recommended to anyone that wants a great true war story.
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