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 Spearhead. December, 1943: A badly damaged American bomber struggles to fly over wartime Germany. … Spearhead.
December, 1943: A badly damaged American bomber struggles to fly over wartime Germany. At the controls is twenty-one-year-old Second Lieutenant Charlie Brown. Half his crew lay wounded or dead on this, their first mission. Suddenly, a Messerschmitt fighter pulls up on the bomber’s tail. The pilot is German ace Franz Stigler—and he can destroy the young American crew 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.”
The U.S. 8th Air Force would later classify what happened between them as “top secret.” It was an act that Franz could never mention for fear of 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 the world for each other, a last mission that could change their lives forever.
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A new perspective of non-Nazi Germans caught in that tragic time.
Unusual story of a man of honor in the German Luftwaffe encounter with a US pilot. What happens then and afterwards is a story you and the males in your family will enjoy. Good gift.
One of the best books I have EVER read. I’ve read it several times. Just wonderful!
One of those fantastic stories but written in a compelling way. One of the best biographies I’ve ever read!
Amazing true story of two good men on opposite sides of the same war whose lives intersect in an amazing way
One of the best ww2 books I have ever read!
When character and mutual respect meant more than which emblem was on an airplane.
Amazing true story from WW2. A german ACE pilot saves an American Bomber crew. Great insights into the pilots that flew for Germany. Very well written
Please read. There is a higher calling.
Timeless tale of humanity in the midst of war. Well researched and an excellent read.
I added the audible to this ebook and listened to it almost non-stop. At first I wasn’t sure I liked the reader but then the quality of the book took over (and I got used to the reader). I will probably give my brother a copy for his birthday.
Very interesting as well as enlightening! Great read.
Even in a long tragic war humanity and decency sometimes win out.
A bomber was in a formation on a bomb run in Germany during WWII. There is heavy ack, ack attack from below which damaged the bomber so bad that the pilots had a rough time steering the bomber. He kept on target and dropped his load. The rest of the squadron left him. He was flying towards England when a German fighter came up behind and was about to shoot the bomber down. The German fighter pilot flew up near the plane to inspect it. All the bombers guns were damaged and useless. The tail gunner was locked in his bubble unable to get out. The tail was hanging on by a piece of wire. The fighter pilot wondered how the plane was still flying. He decided not to shoot it down but instead fly in front of it so that ground artillery wouldn’t shoot it down without shooting their own fighter down. He led the bomber out over the water and returned home. Forty years later the two found each other and met face to face and talked about why the German didn’t shoot the bomber down. There are pictures of the bomber after it had landed. Great read. Great story.
This book addressed many of my questions about WW II and the feeling of soldiers on the German side as well as tell an arresting story of Frank Stiller escorting a seriously disabled American bomber and it’s pilot and crew across an area where they would’ve been finished off. The book tells of Charlie’s interest and Franz’s in finding each other through the years, but also tells who they were. It is good to remember that warriors on both side can be noble people despite being involved in a war
Great story
This true story about WWII pilots from opposite sides is a wonderful insight into the people sent to fight and not the political viewpoints of the people running the war.
Even in war sometimes humanity prevails
I enjoyed the book because, even though I was a child during the era, one can’t help but remember. So much hate and inhumanity existed, but in the midst of chaos, miracles happened. It was good to be reminded that all participants were not evil, nor power hungry. While I hope the background story will remind us how easy it is for power hungry men to gain and misuse their power – but I hope it will can also remind us that respect for another human can create miracles.
My Dad was a bomber pilot during WWII flying missions out of England over Germany. It was great to get a better understanding of what bomber pilots went through.