Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
13th out of 36 books
—
16 voters
On Wings of Eagles
by
Ken Follett (Goodreads Author)
The #1 International Bestseller now in trade paperback—with 16 pages of photos. Number-one bestselling author Ken Follett tells the inspiring, true story of the Middle East hostage crisis that began in 1979, and of the unconventional means Ross Perot used to save his countrymen.
...more
...more
Paperback, 400 pages
Published
December 7th 2004
by NAL Trade
(first published 1983)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
3,000)
This book is amazing. Really, you couldn't make this stuff up even if you wanted. I must thank one of my faculty members for "making" me read On Wings of Eagles. Ken Follett is one my favorite (well, maybe my favorite) authors, and I hadn't even known that this book existed until December 2012.
On Wings of Eagles is the 100% true story of the rescue operation that Ross Perot organizes after two of his EDS employees working in the Iran branch are jailed. This story takes place in 1978-79, not long...more
On Wings of Eagles is the 100% true story of the rescue operation that Ross Perot organizes after two of his EDS employees working in the Iran branch are jailed. This story takes place in 1978-79, not long...more
This is an awesome book. Three reasons: 1) Follett is an excellent story teller, 2)It's an "espionage/thriller," sort of, 3) it is TRUE!
You all know Ross Perot. Well he owns EDS (Electronic Digital Systems). In 1979 he had a bunch of his guys in Iran putting together a Social Security system for them AND a Medicare system for them. At one point...the Iranians stopped paying. After about 6 months they were owing around 4 billion $$. About this time the revolution broke out and there was some pol...more
You all know Ross Perot. Well he owns EDS (Electronic Digital Systems). In 1979 he had a bunch of his guys in Iran putting together a Social Security system for them AND a Medicare system for them. At one point...the Iranians stopped paying. After about 6 months they were owing around 4 billion $$. About this time the revolution broke out and there was some pol...more
Este fue otro de los libros que cogí prestado de la biblioteca de mi mamá. Yo estaba familiarizada con la figura de Ross Perot pues cuando vivimos en Atlanta él decidió lanzarse como candidato independiente. Esto le costó el gane para un segundo término a George Bush padre quién estaba en una batalla muy ceñida contra Bill Clinton. Sin conocer mucho de Perot y favoreciéndo en esa época al partido republicano la figura de Perot se me hizo detestable.
La prensa tuvo mucho que ver en esto pues ridi...more
La prensa tuvo mucho que ver en esto pues ridi...more
This is one of my favorite books. The first time I read it at 13 or 14, I read it because I was reading everything Ken Follett had written. It's very different from anything else he had done, but the idea that this was a TRUE story kept me going. Also, the election in which Ross Perot ran for president had occurred recently, so the fact that he was in it made me curious.
I cut my teeth on the Tom Clancy novels, so I was already used to the in-depth discussions of the layout of buildings, breakdo...more
I cut my teeth on the Tom Clancy novels, so I was already used to the in-depth discussions of the layout of buildings, breakdo...more
There are less than a handful of people I want to meet and talk to, just for an hour or so, because I am intrigued them, their work, or their writing – Michio Kaku, Jodi Piccoult, and Elon Musk. Now, I have another on this list, Ross Perot. I’d place him even before Michio Kaku.
This book chronicles the events of Iran hostage crisis as EDS employees, Ross Perot’s company, experience them in Iran. There are so many astounding FACTS associated with this event, but one that I find so inspiring and a...more
This book chronicles the events of Iran hostage crisis as EDS employees, Ross Perot’s company, experience them in Iran. There are so many astounding FACTS associated with this event, but one that I find so inspiring and a...more
I thought this was fascinating. The book had been on my parents shelves for years and I finally picked it up. I was familiar with Ken Follet's name, but not his writing, so that may have hooked me, but when I got into the book I was fascinated. This was an event that occurred in my lifetime. I was familiar with the Iran hostage situation and recalled hearing the running account of the days in captivity of those hostages. But this occurred just prior to that event and was very interesting because...more
Remember the Iranian hostage crisis of '79? Well, in 1978--before things arrived at that disastrous point in Iran's revolution against the Shah--several Americans found themselves imprisoned (in actuality, kidnapped and held for ransom) by the Iranian government, only to be abandoned by the American Embassy while the country fell apart around them.
Now remember Ross Perot of the 90s presidential races? Well, the men kidnapped were senior executives of Perot's company EDS. Unwilling to leave his...more
Now remember Ross Perot of the 90s presidential races? Well, the men kidnapped were senior executives of Perot's company EDS. Unwilling to leave his...more
A true tale of what happened during the heady days of the collapse of the Shah and the beginning of the reign of the Ayatollah and radical Islam in Iran. This is a story about what happened when Ross Perot's company men were caught in amid history, his top CEOs jailed in an Iranian prison during a time of pure anarchy and how the company planned and executed an escape with a handful of company executives who volunteered and retired Green Beret, Bull Simons.
How unlikely such an event would ever...more
How unlikely such an event would ever...more
This is one of those books that I did not get around to reading when it first came out in 1983, but it was worth the wait... I throughly enjoyed it. Basically the book follows the actual events and participants in the imprisonment and eventual release of two IT specialists in Iran who worked for EDS, Ross Perot's computer systems firm back in the late 70s. It reads like a who-done-it, but the story is true and the dialog is as true to life as the participants could remember when telling of their...more
Now this is a five star book if I've ever read one! I couldn't put this book down. It was an amazing story told masterfully by Ken Follett. In looking over some reviews on Goodreads, I was surprised to see a couple of bad reviews with one saying it was not exciting. Are you kidding me??? This was one of the most exciting books I've ever read -- and it's a true story!
Ross Perot had a data processing company called EDS in the 1970s. (Too lazy to see if it still exists. LOL!) His company was in the...more
Ross Perot had a data processing company called EDS in the 1970s. (Too lazy to see if it still exists. LOL!) His company was in the...more
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...more
Decent enough read. I'm not quite sure how to review a non-fiction book. I mean, it's just ... factual writing. I don't read non-fiction enough, I guess, to be a really fair judge of it. But Follett did a respectable job of reporting the facts, so I'm happy. There *were* a fair number of digressions throughout the course of the book - maybe that's normal, to add background information, 'get in their head' type stuff. ? Not sure. In any case, it didn't really bother me.
I had never heard of this...more
I had never heard of this...more
Follett steps away from his fiction thrillers to tell the real life story of two EDS employees working in Iran who were arrested and held in an Iranian jail without be charged with anything in 1979 prior to the Iranian hostage situation. I knew nothing about this till reading the book.
I also gained a new found respect for Ross Perot, who was the owner of EDS and later became a presidential canidate. The only thing I knew about Ross Perot was that he was a short guy with big ears. I found out he...more
I also gained a new found respect for Ross Perot, who was the owner of EDS and later became a presidential canidate. The only thing I knew about Ross Perot was that he was a short guy with big ears. I found out he...more
1/13/13 ** This is the tale of the rescue of 2 employees of EDS (i.e. Ross Perot's company) around the time of the 1979 Iran Revolution (think Argo & the storming of the U.S. Embassy. The Revolution was in February and the U.S. Embassy events were in November.
The author, Follett, is well known for his spy/thrillers and he's clearly researched this event and written much of the story in the same style as that he uses for his thrillers.
My objections are that parts of the book seem to be a litt...more
The author, Follett, is well known for his spy/thrillers and he's clearly researched this event and written much of the story in the same style as that he uses for his thrillers.
My objections are that parts of the book seem to be a litt...more
Well, truth is stranger than fiction. I never get tired of applying that to the many volumes of non-fiction that I now have under my belt. If teachers taught this stuff in school... We would have a ton of history majors and no one designing the next iphone. Hah! Book was not especially well written, which is what I said about Follett's other book too. It's his subject matter that is gripping- and the way he tells the story, but not the words he uses or the dialogue (my opinion, for whatever that...more
Two employees of Ross Perot are jailed in Iran during revolution in 1979. Ross Perot sends 6 of his executives back into Iran and their trials and challenges in manaaging to get the two men out of jail are examined... A self glorification of Perot and his monies in manipulating systems to bypass the regulations/rules of another sovereign country. This story makes one wonder why people cannot see the writing on the wall and attend to threats that may endanger their personal and family safety . a...more
In 1979, Iran was caught up in a revolution as the Shah was ousted by the Ayatollah Khomeini. In the midst of this, two American executives who worked in Iran for EDS, billionaire Ross Perot's computer company, were arbitrarily imprisoned by the revolution. Perot put together a team and masterminded a rescue plan that defied both the odds and all kinds of international laws. They had to first spring the two from prison, then get them out of the country - both nearly impossible challenges. This b...more
A good read after a long time.
Good story telling and a good work of fiction (Nothing here is Non-Fiction).
The characterization and the minute details around the events, places and characters is to be applauded.
Though the story is supposed to be real, it hardly feels true.
The illegitimate has been depicted as "For the American", to buy the faith of the reader, that's how I see it.
A goody goody American company was a fact that was indigestible, and also the characterization of the "Dutiful - For t...more
Good story telling and a good work of fiction (Nothing here is Non-Fiction).
The characterization and the minute details around the events, places and characters is to be applauded.
Though the story is supposed to be real, it hardly feels true.
The illegitimate has been depicted as "For the American", to buy the faith of the reader, that's how I see it.
A goody goody American company was a fact that was indigestible, and also the characterization of the "Dutiful - For t...more
Rumors abound about Mr. Ross Perot's involvement with rescuing his employees in radicalized Iran. This book sets the story straight, but it's more exciting then you could possibly imagine. Also, the bravery of Perot, and his commitment to "his men" is as instinctive as the finest General in our armed forces.
I loved it how when the chips were down Perot rose to the occasion and spent whatever was necessary, hired whomever was necessary, and went wherever was necessary to get his employees back to...more
I loved it how when the chips were down Perot rose to the occasion and spent whatever was necessary, hired whomever was necessary, and went wherever was necessary to get his employees back to...more
On The Wings Of Eagles did not seem as good as Ken Follett’s fictional works, but still is quite readable for a non-fiction narrative. Follett did an excellent job at describing H. Ross Perot (his motivations, life, and character) and how his loyalty to two of his employees imprisoned in Iran led to him using his connections to create a rescue team. The narrative was not overly dry or tedious, but various parts of the book failed to capture my interest and I ended up skim reading these sections....more
Disappointing real-life account of American executives rescue in 1970s revolutionary Iran. I was looking forward to an exciting read by this often great writer (Eye of the Needle) but it seems more like a note-taking exercise with too many characters either uninteresting or not needed in the story line
It seems like a good book could have come out of this if Follett ever gave it direction and trimmed all the useless meanderings. I simply did not care at all for any of the characters and forced m...more
It seems like a good book could have come out of this if Follett ever gave it direction and trimmed all the useless meanderings. I simply did not care at all for any of the characters and forced m...more
I read this book because my father-in-law told me that it's his favorite book. I was first intrigued because it was a true story and then I decided that I'd for sure give it a try because I know my parents are big fans of this author. This turned out to be such a great book! I had to keep going back and reading the description on the book to verify that it was a true story because it seemed like a fiction spy-thriller. I couldn't believe this really happened! Why hasn't a movie been made of it?...more
This book was an interesting history lesson. I didn't even know that Follett had written any non-fiction and I was happy to find that the story was told in the style of a fiction novel. So I didn't feel preached to nor was I of the mind that I was "learning" as I read. Ross Perot - I remember him running for president a few years back and wondering where the hell he came from and what he was all about. Reading this gave me a new perspective on the man as well as a new-found respect for him. All...more
Based on a true story, it was interesting, but I found this too detailed and drawn out too long. At times it felt like a cross between a news report, textbook and novel. It was worthwhile reading, just not very exciting. And the pictures in the middle of the book, (that's where they showed up in the eversion I read, maybe did in paper?) totally gave away the ending halfway through. I,m sure some readers already know how it ends from being familiar with the news story of the time, but I didn't an...more
I have just finished reading this absolutely incredible story. On a scale of 0ne to 5 stars, I rate it at least SIX STARS. I place it at the very top by far of my ALL-TIME FAVORITES LIST. It is a truly amazing tale and all the more so because it is 100% NON-FICTION. I will be working on a complete review and post it in the next few days. The following is my more complete review:
During 1978 the American multinational information technology equipment and services company EDS (Electronic Data Syst...more
During 1978 the American multinational information technology equipment and services company EDS (Electronic Data Syst...more
In On Wings of Eagles, Follett has written an exciting account of the rescue of two employees of Electronic Data Systems (EDS), then helmed by H. Ross Perot. Though it is about real events, it reads with all the excitement and intensity of a spy novel. In 1978, two EDS employees, Paul Chiapparone and Bill Gaylord, were arrested in Tehran (Iran) on trumped-up charges of bribery, with bail set at $13 million!
In the book, Follett carries us through the capture of the EDS employees, the U.S. govern...more
In the book, Follett carries us through the capture of the EDS employees, the U.S. govern...more
Struggled with the choice of 4 or 5 stars..I usually only give 5 to books that are truly my favorite and that I know I will read over and over as the years pass. But this is just a fantastic story, made even better because it is true and Follett tried his level best to follow it as accurately as possible. Well, worth reading...and okay, even re-reading. I am amazed that I never knew about this, although I would have been quite young when it happened. Perhaps we should have elected Perot presiden...more
Feb 04, 2011
Kelanth, numquam risit ubi dracones vivunt
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
guerra
Questo credo che sia il libro di Follett più brutto che abbia letto insieme al "Pianeta dei Bruchi". Mi ricordo che lo trovai noioso al punto che più di una volta ero stato lì lì per abbandonarlo. Non discuto sull'episodio storico che ha voluto riportare in questo libro, ma sullo stile di scrittura veramente difficile da digerire. Più che un romanzo un vero reportage degli avvenimenti accaduti. Sconsigliato se non agli appassionati storici o ai ricercatori di tutte le opere di Follett.
Remind yourself that this is a true story and that the author did not exaggerate the facts to spice it up and you will surely find it to be a spectacular read. It's not a fast-paced page-turner by any means but, I would give it a 3+ if I could. Again, just remember that this is true to life and I think you'll find it to be quite fascinating.
I'll tell you this, if you ever needed someone to get you out of a jam, you would be hard pressed to find anyone better than Ross Perot!
I'll tell you this, if you ever needed someone to get you out of a jam, you would be hard pressed to find anyone better than Ross Perot!
Corporate derring do as the US government and US military are hamstrung by policy. Leave it to Ross Perot, middle-aged rescuers dedicated to saving wrongly imprisoned Americans, bags of money, tons of luck, all against the backdrop of Iran descending into mayhem and anarchy after the Shah was deposed. Oh, yeah, add that the team was headed up by legendary Special Forces operative "Bull" Simons, and you will know why this had to be made into a movie starring Burt Lancaster.
1 like · like · see review
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Ken Follett burst onto the book world in 1978 with Eye of the Needle, a taut and original thriller with a memorable woman character in the central role. The book won the Edgar award and became an outstanding film.
He went on to write four more bestselling thrillers: Triple; The Key to Rebecca; The Man from St Petersburg; and Lie Down with Lions.
He also wrote On Wings of Eagles, the true story of ho...more
More about Ken Follett...
He went on to write four more bestselling thrillers: Triple; The Key to Rebecca; The Man from St Petersburg; and Lie Down with Lions.
He also wrote On Wings of Eagles, the true story of ho...more
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
03 déc. 19:57