Synopses & Reviews
Four days before Christmas 1943, a badly damaged American bomber struggled to fly over wartime Germany. At its controls was a 21-year-old pilot. Half his crew lay wounded or dead. It was their first mission. Suddenly, a sleek, dark shape pulled up on the bomberandrsquo;s tailandmdash;a German Messerschmitt fighter. Worse, the German pilot was an ace, a man able to destroy the American bomber in 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.and#160;This is the true story of the two pilots whose lives collided in the skies that dayandmdash;the Americanandmdash;2nd Lieutenant Charlie Brown, a former farm boy from West Virginia who came to captain a B-17andmdash;and the Germanandmdash;2nd Lieutenant Franz Stigler, a former airline pilot from Bavaria who sought to avoid fighting in World War II.and#160;A Higher Call follows both Charlie and Franzandrsquo;s harrowing missions. Charlie would face takeoffs in English fog over the flaming wreckage of his buddiesandrsquo; 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 1,000 bombers each with eleven guns, waiting for his attack.and#160;Ultimately, Charlie and Franz would stare across the frozen skies at one another. What happened between them, the American 8th Air Force would later classify as andldquo;top secret.andrdquo; 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 search for one another, a last mission that could change their lives forever.and#160;
Review
One of those rare works of nonfiction that does indeed read like a novel and also sheds light on a heroic and almost unknown group of men, while reminding us of just how brutal and unforgiving the war in the Southwest Pacific was.
Michael Korda, New York Times bestselling author of Ike: An American Hero
Review
andldquo;This book grips you like a movie.andnbsp;It's part
Topandnbsp;Gun, part
Valkyrie, and more!andrdquo;andmdash;Marcus Brotherton, author of the
New Yorkandnbsp;Times bestseller,
We Who Are Alive and Remain andldquo;It is often said that andlsquo;war is hellandrsquo;andmdash;and it isandmdash;however, this story reveals how the human spirit can shine in the darkest hours. A Higher Call is an eye-opener.andrdquo;andmdash;Colonel Charles McGee, Tuskegee Airman, WWIIandnbsp;andldquo;andlsquo;Can good men be found on both sides of a bad war?andrsquo; The author asks the question and delivers the answer. A powerful,andnbsp;haunting read.andrdquo;andmdash;Chuck Tatum, author of Red Blood, Black Sandandnbsp;andldquo;A Higher Call exemplifies beautifully the brotherhood of warriors, and will forever change how you look at World War II.andrdquo;andmdash;Eric Blehm, author of the New York Times bestseller, Fearless: The Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of Navy SEAL Team SIX Operator Adam Brownandnbsp;andldquo;From the horrors of the most savage war in history emerges this beautiful story of a brotherhood between enemies. Simply told, splendid, and well worth the read.andrdquo;andmdash;Joe Galloway, coauthor of the #1 New York Times bestseller, We Were Soldiers, Onceandhellip;and Young
Synopsis
A new account of World War II heroism from the national bestselling author of Biggest Brother. Determined to retake the Philippines ever since his ignominious flight from the islands in 1942, General Douglas MacArthur organized a first- rate intelligence-gathering unit. They were called the Alamo Scouts.
Larry Alexander follows the men who made up the elite recon unit that served as General MacArthur's eyes and ears in the Pacific War. Drawing from personal interviews and testimonies from Scout veterans, Alexander weaves together the tales of the individual Scouts, who often spent weeks behind enemy lines to complete their missions. Now, more than sixty years after the war, the story of the Alamo Scouts will finally be told.
Synopsis
The national bestselling author of "Biggest Brother" presents this new account of World War II heroism. Alexander follows the footsteps of the men who made up the elite reconnaissance unit that served as General MacArthur's eyes and ears in the Pacific War.
About the Author
Adam Makos is a journalist, historian, and editor of the military magazine,
Valor. In his fifteen years of work in the military field, Makos has interviewed countless veterans from WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and present day wars. He has flown a B-17 bomber, a T-38 fighter with the Air Force, and was one of the first journalists authorized by the President to tour Air Force One after 9/11. In pursuit of a story, Makos has traveled to the DMZ border with North Korea and to Iraq in 2008 to accompany the 101st Airborne and Army Special Forces on their hunt for Al Qaeda terrorists.and#160;
and#160;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 Companyandrsquo;s Battlefields With Sgt. Forrest Guth. Alexander has been a journalist/columnist for the Intelligencer Journal newspaper in Lancaster, Pennsylvania for more than thirteen years and has won numerous state-level awards for excellence in journalism.