Después de una serie de decepciones personales, un amigo me regaló este libro que todavía tiene en su cuarta tapa la etiqueta verde fluo con el precio en rupias nepalinas. Me lo trajo a mi casa con dos cervezas, un abrazo de consuelo y el pitch de que por inverosímil que parecieran los hechos de la trama, era la primera obra de no-ficción del maestro de la ficción histórica que yo le había recomendado dos años atrás, cuando vino a pedirme un libro que lo atrapara y no lo soltara.

El punto es que el inicio de nuestro mercado negro de literatura se fundó con un autor que él ya había elegido al azar, incluso antes de conocerme, y que lo fascinó al punto de consumir su obra completa.

En el medio de mi ensimismamiento con los tropezones de la vida y en la esencia circular del mundo que nunca deja de sorprenderme, mi amigo con su recomendación me recordó que la lectura puede ser un refugio, un espacio de evasión, un pasaporte sin fronteras. Y para mi Ken Follett es exactamente eso, el autor al que acudimos cuando necesitamos viajar en tiempo y espacio para olvidar un rato quiénes somos y dónde estamos.

This was my first Ken Follet experience and not that is a bad story but the book is just too long for its content, I feel that at least 100 pages should have been removed

Had me on the edge of my seat at times. True account of the baseless arrest and detainment of 2 US citizens working in Iran at the time of the fall of the Shah and the revolution.
What blew me away was that the central character in all this was a funny little businessman with a crooked nose and a nasal twang named Ross Perot, who risked his very life to rescue his employees from a cruel, corrupt excuse for a justice system in a barbaric county, which largely (and for good reason) hated the US. Perot organized his smartest and most trusted executives, and led by a decorated old Vietnam war hero, turned them into a rescue team in a country that was on fire.
I had no idea Perot was that sort of hero. The US really missed the boat in failing to elect him president, opting as usual for slimy career politicians. Brilliant, courageous and deeply caring...we have never in my lifetime had a president like that. Here was a guy who had your back. Fortunately he was also smart enough to become a billionaire and was very resourceful and determined.
Resourceful or no, our own State Department and military proved next to useless in getting these and other Americans safely out of Iran; the infamous hostage situation at the embassy occurred soon after. It sounds like Perot's crew got out by the skin of their teeth.
Amazing book. I had no idea....

In December 1978, two Americans working for Ross Perot in Iran were jailed and their passports confiscated. Although they were accused of bribery, no charges were actually brought and no evidence existed. When the U.S. embassy, the State Dept., Kissinger and various elected officials did not have the men out of jail in 48 hours, Perot organized a team of private citizens to arrange a jail break and spirit them out of the country. This is written as an adventure story, not as a piece of investigative journalism. Perot and the rescue team are portrayed as classic action movie heroes. We learn nothing about any efforts by government figures to negotiate a release and why they may not have worked. Instead, the reader is given the impression that those with official channels were either incompetent or irresponsible while Perot and his crackpot team were loyal, courageous, ingenious and the ideal of American can-do ethic. Follett wrote a great action story. It was easy to keep the characters and story line straight. The narrative moved steadily. But I would have liked a fuller picture, hearing from other players and exploring the ethical and diplomatic issues raised by this event.

An interesting true story.

What an absolutely crazy adventure this book documents! It's so strange to think that an American company with its charismatic leader was able to pull off a rescue as audacious and risky as Ross Perot did in this story. This book would make a great fiction thriller but it actually documents real events, complete with tons of luck (both good and bad), foibles, plot twists, and complex humans that you might never find in a thriller.

This was incredible! Sure wish I knew about this when Ross Perot was running for president. Here sure wouldn't have come across as a strange little businessman running a computer company. He's definitely someone you want in your corner.

Wow is the first thing that comes to mind when trying to give a rating to On Wings of Eagles. Follett out does himself on every book and this one with an actual historic base and in the 1960’s takes place in Iran and Turkey during the fall of the Shah and rise of the Ayatollah.

The book has major items excitement, espionage, travel and constant change of plans. Interesting characters and a plot unbelievable but actually happened.

My suggestion read, enjoy and get a different idea of Ross Perot other than the man with the money that ran for president.

An interesting piece of history that does not read like any other Follett story. I suppose that is becasue this is non-fiction. I have more respect for Ross Perot. I've long been familiar with his career (even before his 1992 presidential campaign), but learning this aspect of his life was a real lesson. The devotion he shared to his employees is exemplary. I only wish all corporate chiefs showed that much concern for their employees.

In some ways it's a prequel to the eventual Iranian Hostage Crisis (from the American perspective). It really makes you question the geopolitical mistakes America made at this time, but I also couldn't be the stubborness of the EDS employees - I kept shouting at the pages, "Get out!", but of course I have the hindsight of history on my side.

At times there is too much detail (kind of like every Tom Clancy book ever), but most of the detail serves the narrative arc of the story. If you like historical nonfiction and want to learn more about this region of the world, it's a solid read. If you want to learn about corporate leadership, it's a definite must-read.

Read during the Covid19 stay at home time in May 2020 based on recommendations from others. I had a hard d time focusing and getting into it. Typically I read on business airplane flights. Those times are changing.

When Ross Perot ran for President in 1992, I was aware that he had been involved in a rescue of hostages from Iran, but I never bothered to become familiar with the details. Having experienced severe aversion during my last attempt to read a Ken Follett book, I had not touched several titles of his that have sat on my Audible and Goodreads "shelves" for a few years, so I decided it was time to read him again. Given Perot's 1992 candidacy has been a subject of reflection during the more recent abnormal candidacy for president by a businessman, I decided this book would be a timely read. Amazingly, although it describes events that occurred in 1979, and much of the dynamics of Perot's business and of international relations are now distant memories of a bygone day, it was nevertheless a very timely read.

Perot is portrayed as a man whose only resemblance to Donald Trump is that he was a rich businessman. Perot succeeded because of his intelligence, his ability to hire and promote competent managers, and his moral principles. While Perot could be called arrogant, it would be in the sense that he was a confident leader who was annoyed by the incompetence of those in positions of authority.

The story itself is fascinating, particularly as a prelude to the hostage crisis that was to launch Ted Koppel's Nightline a few months later. Follett tells the story balancing the perspectives of those involved in such a way that, even knowing the eventual outcome, you feel both the compulsion to take great risks to rescue friends from danger, and the absolute terror at being incarcerated in a foreign prison in a country on the verge of revolution. Perot's company, EDS had a substantial presence in Iran in 1978 because it was running the country's social security system. As the Shah began to lose his grip on power, the country had stopped paying EDS, leading EDS to begin to shut down its operation. During this breach of contract, two employees were jailed, but not charged, but bail was set very high.

Because the rescue was successful, Perot received praise... but there was nothing about the rescue that was a guaranteed success, and the rescue could have easily ended badly with Ross Perot having been accused of breaking laws and taking risks that damaged our relationship with Iran and other countries in the region.

One interesting commentary in the book is on the failure of Jimmy Carter to timely switch America's support from the Shah to the Ayatollah. According to Follett, Secretary of State Cyrus Vance and his ambassador to Iran had recognized the situation and found a timely opportunity to extend our international cooperation to the Ayatollah. But instead, Carter listened to his national security man, Zbignew Brezinski, and tried to take a position loyal to the Shah, even as the Shah was urging us, for the sake of his country, to establish diplomatic channels with the Ayatollah!

Follett is at his best when he sticks to the story as it happened, and this book does just that!

A true story that reads like an impossible adventure

What's not to like
Adventure tension one of the most exciting novels i have ever read
Well constructed and ritten