“A Higher Call” by Adam Makos and Larry Alexander – A True Story of Compassion Between Enemies

First off, I’d like to say that even though A Higher Call by Adam Makos and Larry Alexander is mostly a novel, the events depicted within it were based on real stories, at least as far as the overall path traveled by the two main characters goes. 

I’m sure you are already familiar with World War II from history text books, television shows, movies and whatnot, so I’m kind of going to skip over explaining the importance of this world event; even if you aren't an expert, you probably have an idea as to how things were for and between the Allied and the Axis, which is enough to understand this novel. 

In any case, A Higher Call follows the lives of two pilots during the Second World War: the American Charlie Brown (has nothing to do with the cartoon character… at least literally) and the German Franz Stigler. 

The book basically follows these two men through the unbelievable hardships they are forced to endure unimaginable pains, provide never-ending sacrifices, shake under blinding explosions and quiver from the terrifying bawls of dying soldiers. Eventually, the two storylines overlap, with Charlie and Franz meeting in the skies one day. Without telling you what happened when they met, it suffices to say that this is the kind of secret which can literally destroy lives.

All in all, I have to say that I enjoyed this book tremendously, and not just because I am a WW2 fanatic. For starters, it wasn’t a stereotypical portrayal of how glorious and fault-less Americans came over to Europe to end the Nazi threat (not only is this stereotypical, it’s not even close to what happened in reality, but that is an entirely different conversation). 

This relieved me greatly as I’m not sure I could take any more of those brainless generalizations. Instead, this book focuses on the act of war itself, the atrocities it gives birth to, and how in the end, deep down inside, humans were fighting each other because it was a kill-or-be-killed scenario, because nobody knew better… because they were ordered to. 

 It’s always interesting, at least from my point of view, to see how the world we have created is actually quite detached from our real needs and desires. If you are going to read this book, and I highly recommend that you do, make sure you have some time ahead of you as I guarantee you won’t feel like putting it down any time soon. 

 

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Adam Makos Personal site Adam Makos is the kind of writer who always had to experience life first-hand, hence his careers as a military journalist. During his time, he interviewed the finest of Air Force One, the President, Prince Charles, and even travelled to Iraq with the Special Forces to hunt down Al-Qaeda terrorists. As it comes with the territory, he is the author of a bestseller, A Higher Call.

Larry Alexander Larry Alexander is one of the many who have set out to learn about war on every scale and under every condition imaginable, but what sets him apart are the enthralling and eloquent ways he lays out his findings. Though the fight may be long over for the men whose stories he covers, Alexander’s struggle is an eternal one.