The symbol of the eagle was something I remember from my childhood...on paperweights, small statues, you name it. Eagle=EDS. My dad worked for EDS for 30 years. And that's why I smiled when I finished this book, for it couldn't be more aptly titled. This true account of a "small" Iranian hostage crisis in the year before the one we all know better illuminates the spirit of EDS and the power of one man's money and drive put to good use. If more millionaires used their resources the way Ross Perot used his, perhaps the vilification of corporations and their leaders would be less universal. I enjoyed this book, both for Ken Follett's unfailingly clear and well-written prose, and also for the "can do" spirit it illuminates. I loved that when the governments failed--both the Iranian and the U.S.--Perot took it upon himself to get those men out of there. And he succeeded. Thank god he didn't rely on the Carter administration. Read this if you don't know much about the Iranian Revolution or EDS or Ross Perot. Or if you simply want to regain your faith that there are some good people out there.

What a marvel.

A truely magnificent read. This is the 6th book that I have read of Kens and I am forever hooked by the intricate detail of his books. The hours of research that goes into these stories is astonishing. Can't wait to read my next book.

In 1983 best-selling novelist Ken Follett set aside his usual spy fictions in favor of this non-fictional account of the rescue of two American businessmen who had been unfairly jailed in late 1978 without process of law in revolutionary Iran. The two men were employees of Dallas's EDS corporation, and company head Ross Perot wasn't having any of it. This is the story of how the two men got out of jail and were smuggled into Turkey before their return to the USA, and it's quite an interesting one, although it was more a matter of making the most of a rapidly changing chaotic situation than a strong-arm rescue like Entebbe.

Probably the greatest weakness in this otherwise highly readable account is its length -- over 400 pages. While the principal players are numerous, and divided into "Clean" and "Dirty" teams, I wish author Follett had not reintroduced their personalities and quirks at almost every opportunity.

A very good true life adventure as Follet tells the story of how Ross Perot and EDS managed to bring two of their employees home from Iran after they been had jailed and had 13 million dollars placed as their bail. All of this happened shortly before and during the time that the Shah left and Khomeini returned. A crackling good story made all the better by being true. Recommended.

Fascinating story!!!!

This real account of Ross Perot's successful attempt at liberating two of his employees, arrested during the last days of the regime in Iran and the first days of Iranian revolution, is an incredible (and real) adventure which was turned into a movie in the 1980s, with Burt Lancaster playing "Bull" Simmons and an array of other great actors playing the parts of the real EDS employees who accepted to stay or go back to Iran to try and rescue their colleagues.
This is not the story of the later hostages in the US Embassy in Iran - which took place months after this case ended with a spectacular escape of the two americans from prison and their flight through revolution filled roads into Turkey, Germany, London and Dallas!
Definitely worth reading, a different Ken Follet, and a breathtaking adventure. Wish I could find and see the Lancaster movie!

Maria Carmo,

Lisbon, 25 September 2018.

Un Ken Follett, anche in questo romanzo, in gran forma.
La storia è vera e nel corso della stesura ci sono diversi rimaneggiamento proprio sulla base di quanto raccontato dai protagonisti. Un ulteriore sintomo del rigore che questo autore, comunque, mette sempre nelle sue ricostruzioni. Ci sono più piani temporali di narrazione e questo rende il susseguirsi degli eventi coinvolgente, così come la caratterizzazione dei personaggi.
Sebbene l’inizio mi sia parso piuttosto lento, devo dire che si è poi animato, diventando più avvincente.
La suspance è garantita, gli episodi ti fanno sperare che tutto vada per il meglio per il meglio, sei lì lì per vedere la luce e il dipanarsi della vicenda quando all’improvviso finisci per ripiombare nell'ignoto al paragrafo successivo.
E' una storia di coraggio, intraprendenza, audacia, improvvisazione, tenacia, generosità, spirito di corpo e amicizia. Una storia di uomini che hanno rischiato la vita per salvare i propri amici. E' come fare qualche giro su una macchina di formula uno.
E con il classico lieto fine, come in tutti i romanzi di Follett.
Forse l’unico, tra tutti quelli che ho letto fino ad ora, in cui il tratto ricorrente sia un cameratesco legame fra i protagonisti e non vi sia la componente sessuale.

I liked the book On Wings of Eagles by Ken Follett; however, it was a very slow read for me. I usually don't read these types of books and I was easily distracted. That's not saying the story isn't good, it is. It's a true story and details how two people were sent to and held prisoner in Iran without any cause. It's about a group of loyal and trustworthy employees and the employer, Ross Perot, that helped in their escaped.

Besides the fact that I like Ken Follett's books, what captured my reason for reading the story is because around 1983 I worked in an office as a receptionist. I spoke with a couple of people who said they had lived in Iran. They loved living in Iran until trouble came and life in Iran turned bad for Americans. I was young then and really didn't keep up with world news, but I remembered them saying this to me.

In addition, Ross Perot, the employer in the book, ran for President. He was the one person that got me finally interested enough to sign up and vote. The book made him sound like an amazing, strong-willed person and boss.

This is history I lived, 1977 I was a marine aboard the U.S.S. Nimitz CVN-68. The Iranians had disposed of the Shah and had been replaced with the Iyatola and his revolutionary Governmemt. President Carters Diplomatic policies were riddled with mistakes and very ineffective. Two of Ross Perots employees following the advise of the American Embassy were arrested without being charged with a 12 million dollar bail. After all Diplomatic and other means failed EDS (Ross Perots Co.) Decided on a Break-out With boardroom executives and a former Army Special Forces Colonal. This is drama and action at its best. Read what it feels like to be on top level meetings and decisions. You will experience it all, Prison, escape, hate and revolution torn Iran.

En 2011: Si bien se nota el buen hacer escribiendo del Follet -te obliga a leer el libro una vez lo empiezas-, es de lo más soso que he leído de este caballero.

Merged review:

En el 2011: Si bien se nota el buen hacer escribiendo del Follet -te obliga a leer el libro una vez lo empiezas-, es de lo más soso que he leído de este caballero.

Questo libro di Follet mi è piaciuto tantissimo, si tratta di una storia vera, in questa edizione a fine libro ci sono le foto dei vari protagonisti della vicenda. Ambientato nella fine anni '70 in Iran.

4 ☆

How many American corporate chiefs in the twentieth century had asked seven employees to perpetrate a jailbreak?

Founder and Chairman of the Board of Electronic Data Systems ("EDS"), Ross Perot did after two of his executives were arrested and jailed in Tehran, Iran on December 28, 1978. Paul Chiapparone and Bill Gaylord were innocent of breaking local laws. Many eventually realized that they were being held as commercial hostages as no charges had been filed against them and yet their bail had been set at unprecedented amounts of $12+ million. From EDS' perspective, the Iranian government under Reza Shah was in arrears of $4 million to the Texas-based firm.
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n    But the big mistake has been doing business in Iran in the first place. With hindsight [Perot] could see that. At the time ... oil-rich, stable, Western-oriented Iran presented excellent opportunities. He had not perceived the strains beneath the surface, he knew nothing about the Ayatollah Khomeini, and he had not foreseen that one day there would be a President naive enough to try to impose American beliefs and standards on a Middle Eastern country.n  

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It would be a gross understatement to say that Iran was experiencing turmoil in 1978. For nearly a year, civic protests blocked the streets and power strikes meant cold buildings. By September 1978, the The US Ambassador Sullivan in Iran had quietly observed that the US-backed Shah was "doomed." EDS personnel were asking daily whether and when to pull the plug. By December 9th, EDS had evacuated 130+ employee families from Tehran, leaving behind only a skeletal crew, who would have likely been prevented from departing anyway. High-level government officials who had been appointed by the Shah were being arrested for corruption. Magistrate H. Dadgar turned his attentions to EDS managers Paul and Bill on a related inquiry and then to their shock imprisoned them.

Despite multiple efforts to leverage federal US government contacts, nothing succeeded in freeing the two EDS executives. In their desperation, the EDS folks resorted to illicit strategies and "Operation Hotfoot" (aka Help Our Two Friends Out of Tehran) was born and spearheaded by a retired Green Beret Colonel.

Ken Follett had written a few espionage thrillers before commencing with On Wings of Eagles. This was a real account of the efforts to free Paul and Bill and to smuggle them home to the safety of the US. Although true, I wouldn't say that this was unbiased as the retelling was very favorably cast towards Perot and his people. At times when Follett focused upon Perot, it felt like a campaign biography (and this was published nearly a decade before Perot ran for POTUS and lost).

Clearly, this nonfiction book wasn't penned by an investigative journalist with a duty to objectivity. With that caveat in mind and once I had time to devote to it, On Wings of Eagles became exciting reading especially by the story's midpoint. I enjoyed learning a bit more about Iran as Paul and Bill's adventure was set against a dramatic backdrop of a country before and after a revolution. The danger to the EDS folks had been real and immediate. Khomeini, the exiled cleric, had returned to Iran on February 1, 1979, and proclaimed to his excited followers -
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n    "I beg God to cut off the hands of all evil foreigners and all their helpers."n  

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On Wings of Eagles read like a thriller. Its vintage was apparent in the gender attitudes among the Americans. Although events transpired forty-plus years ago, I believe that the tale still offers food for thought to businesses considering expansion into emerging markets.