Adam Makos (born 1981) is an American author and

military historian Military history is the study of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to local and international relationships. Professional historians ...

. His works include '' A Higher Call'' (2012), which recounts the

Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler incident The Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler incident occurred on 20 December 1943, after a successful bomb run on Bremen, 2nd Lt. Charlie Brown (pilot), Charles "Charlie" Brown's Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, B-17F Flying Fortress ''Ye Olde Pub'' of the ...

, and ''Spearhead'' (2019), a detailed biography of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

tank gunner Clarence Smoyer. Both books have appeared on the

New York Times Best Seller list ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...

. The 2022 film, ''

Devotion Devotion or Devotions may refer to: Religion * Anglican devotions, private prayers and practices used by Anglican Christians * Buddhist devotion, commitment to religious observance * Catholic devotions, customs, rituals, and practices of worship ...

'', is based on his 2015 book of the same title, which tells the true story of a friendship between two U.S. Navy pilots in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. At the age of 15 years, while in high school, he started to write military history and was one of the founding members of ''Ghost Wings'', a forerunner to ''Valor'', a magazine depicting veterans' stories. His other works include ''Voices of the Pacific'' (2013), based on a collection of oral histories of marines and seamen who served in the Pacific during the Second World War.

Early life and education

Adam Makos was brought up on the outskirts of Williamsport, Pennsylvania. He completed his early education from

Montoursville Area High School Montoursville Area High School is a small suburban/rural public high school located at 100 North Arch Street, Montoursville, Pennsylvania. It is the sole high school operated by the Montoursville Area School District. The school serves the borou ...

. At the age of 15 years, while in

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

, he started to write military history and was one of the founding members of ''Ghost Wings'', a forerunner to ''Valor'', a

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

depicting veterans' stories. He was a member of the school's French club and was signed up for a trip to Paris until opting to go to

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort is an destination resort, entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Wa ...

with his family. The club's flight to Paris was the fatal

TWA Flight 800 Trans World Airlines Flight 800 (known as TW800 or TWA800) was a regularly scheduled international passenger flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, United States, to Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy, with a stopo ...

, which has been a major life changing event for him. In 2003 he graduated from

Lycoming College Lycoming College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1812, Lycoming College is affiliated with the United Methodist Church but operates as an ind ...

Career

In 2012, after eight years of research, Makos published '' A Higher Call''. It recounts the

. The book was on the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list. He subsequently wrote ''Voices of the Pacific'' (2013), based on a collection of oral histories of marines and seamen who served in the Pacific during the Second World War. The 2022 film, ''

'', is based on his 2015 book of the same title, which recounts the true story of a friendship between two U.S. Navy pilots in the

. In 2019, he published a detailed biography of

tank gunner Clarence Smoyer, titled ''Spearhead''. The book made the top five in the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list.

Bibliography

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References

External links

Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Makos, Adam 1981 births Living people People from Pennsylvania American writers American publishers (people) People from Williamsport, Pennsylvania Writers from Pennsylvania American aviation writers American aviation historians 21st-century American historians