A Higher Call by Adam Makos
Posted: November 15th, 2015, 6:27 pm
I came across a copy of this in an Oxfam shop in Dublin yesterday while casting around for something to read on the three-hour bus ride home (and for the grand price of €1!) It's been out since 2012, but I'd seen a review of it in one of the modelling magazines a couple of months ago, so knew the basic gist of the story.
It's the tale of the remarkable 1943 encounter between a veteran Luftwaffe ace in his 109 and the inexperienced crew of a crippled B-17 returning from a bombing mission over Bremen. While this is the pivotal moment of the book, there is a huge amount of background detail provided for the careers of Franz Stigler, the German pilot and Charlie Brown, at the wheel of the bomber as well as their post-war lives and eventual meeting. Perhaps the most interesting section of the book, however, is an insight into the politics behind and day-to-day life of the 262-equipped JV 44 in the waning days of the war.
Author Adam Makos will likely never win any awards for his prose style, but his research is thorough and he blends the interweaving stories involving many larger-than-life characters very well. In addition to this, he does an excellent job of expressing the humanity of the combatants and the futility and tragedy of war. It's one of those reads that just rattles along (I devoured 200 of it's 385 pages on the bus and finished the rest over a few pints later!).
As far as modelling goes, there are some excellent reference photos from Franz Stigler's personal collection and within the text some interesting detail on uniforms, unit markings and serials (although nothing that can't be found elsewhere, I'm sure).
At the price, I couldn't go wrong, but even at RRP this is worth getting your hands on. There's even a movie in the works!
It's the tale of the remarkable 1943 encounter between a veteran Luftwaffe ace in his 109 and the inexperienced crew of a crippled B-17 returning from a bombing mission over Bremen. While this is the pivotal moment of the book, there is a huge amount of background detail provided for the careers of Franz Stigler, the German pilot and Charlie Brown, at the wheel of the bomber as well as their post-war lives and eventual meeting. Perhaps the most interesting section of the book, however, is an insight into the politics behind and day-to-day life of the 262-equipped JV 44 in the waning days of the war.
Author Adam Makos will likely never win any awards for his prose style, but his research is thorough and he blends the interweaving stories involving many larger-than-life characters very well. In addition to this, he does an excellent job of expressing the humanity of the combatants and the futility and tragedy of war. It's one of those reads that just rattles along (I devoured 200 of it's 385 pages on the bus and finished the rest over a few pints later!).
As far as modelling goes, there are some excellent reference photos from Franz Stigler's personal collection and within the text some interesting detail on uniforms, unit markings and serials (although nothing that can't be found elsewhere, I'm sure).
At the price, I couldn't go wrong, but even at RRP this is worth getting your hands on. There's even a movie in the works!
Haven't got the right B-17 yet though. 