I was on the edge of my seat from the first 10 pages. This story was unbelievable and knowing that it was a true story made it even better.

I absolutely loved this book. Full of brilliance, persistence, determination, loyalty, adventure, inspiration... it was a really entertaining and uplifting to read and I couldn't believe it was a true story!

When some of the employees of the large company that made Perot lots of money get into serious trouble he doesn't get much joy from official channels.

Therefore, he decides to put together his own official rescue insertion and retrieval operation to get his people out.

An interesting tale, indeed, alongside Follet' other fictional works.


3.5 out of 5

Follett's descriptions of people in his other books--Code, St. Petersburg, Needle--differ in many ways from the descriptions given in his name here. An example is the (second) introduction of Glenn Jackson, a computer programmer and operator, on pg. 226 of the 1983 paperback edition. The speaker talks about the man as if he's familiar, referring to him by his nickname "Rocket Man", without quotes. Adulation by the narrator for this person isn't necessary for the story. But the narrator isn't introduced as a participant in the story. Given that this familiarity and this adulation is frequent, and annoying, in descriptions of people who worked with Ross Perot, it must be Perot dictated parts of the book to Follett. Perot wanted to praise the people who worked for him, and it's his praise we see in the text.

So, just staying with this typical passage, the person is described as "a combination of a first-class mathematical brain and the ability to stay calm under stress". This is the business vernacular of Ross Perot. Follett would never independently add the articles, which is typical Texan and western U.S. talk. His narrator would never subjectively classify someone as "first-class", which is crude and strictly businessman talk, nor refer to a character by his "brain", which is immature or adolescent jive. Nor does Follett ever get wrong "duress" for "stress", which the narrator does here--staying calm necessarily precludes being stressed, nor can one be "under" stress.

This late passage is selected, not because the narrator gave way later to Perot's influence, but because the narrator has never seemed to let up, despite reader hopes, in his subjection to that influence. The narrative is just brimming in many other ways with irrelevant accounting. It keeps accounting for circumstances that have little bearing on the central story, whereas in Follett's own books, elements revolve around the central plot or he excludes them as purposeless.

One of the least interesting passages is the several pages (100-103) in which the narrator slowly introduces each one of the ten men who form the first rescue group. We are not interested in them until they do something. They are just a bunch of guys sitting around discussing a rescue that is far in the future. For instance, the narrator says that the second man in his list, Boulware, is a full five inches taller than Poche, the first man he has described. It isn't as though Boulware is using his height in the room or will be definitely using it in a rescue--or that we could possibly remember this trivia hundreds of pages later when an actual rescue takes place. And this section is just chock full of trivia like this.

I lost interest in the rescue of these men from a Tehran jail. I wanted to know, instead, how Ken Follett felt when he was liberated to write his own books after this one.

Follett's descriptions of people in his other books--Code, St. Petersburg, Needle--differ in many ways from the descriptions given in his name here. An example is the (second) introduction of Glenn Jackson, a computer programmer and operator, on pg. 226 of the 1983 paperback edition. The speaker talks about the man as if he's familiar, referring to him by his nickname "Rocket Man", without quotes. Adulation by the narrator for this person isn't necessary for the story. But the narrator isn't introduced as a participant in the story. Given that this familiarity and this adulation is frequent, and annoying, in descriptions of people who worked with Ross Perot, it must be Perot dictated parts of the book to Follett. Perot wanted to praise the people who worked for him, and it's his praise we see in the text.

So, just staying with this typical passage, the person is described as "a combination of a first-class mathematical brain and the ability to stay calm under stress". This is the business vernacular of Ross Perot. Follett would never independently add the articles, which is typical Texan and western U.S. talk. His narrator would never subjectively classify someone as "first-class", which is crude and strictly businessman talk, nor refer to a character by his "brain", which is immature or adolescent jive. Nor does Follett ever get wrong "duress" for "stress", which the narrator does here--staying calm necessarily precludes being stressed, and one cannot be "under" stress--one may be stressed, or feeling stressed, as stress is a psychological condition and not a characteristic of a situation.

This late passage is selected, not because the narrator gave way later to Perot's influence, but because the narrator has never seemed to let up, despite reader hopes, in his subjection to that influence. The narrative is just brimming in many other ways with irrelevant accounting. It keeps accounting for circumstances that have little bearing on the central story, whereas in Follett's own books, elements revolve around the central plot or he excludes them as purposeless.

One of the least interesting passages is the several pages (100-103) in which the narrator slowly introduces each one of the ten men who form the first rescue group. We are not interested in them until they do something. They are just a bunch of guys sitting around discussing a rescue that is far in the future. For instance, the narrator says that the second man in his list, Boulware, is a full five inches taller than Poche, the first man he has described. It isn't as though Boulware is using his height in the room or will be definitely using it in a rescue--or that we could possibly remember this trivia hundreds of pages later when an actual rescue takes place. And this section is just chock full of trivia like this.

I lost interest in the rescue of these men from a Tehran jail. I wanted to know, instead, how Ken Follett felt when he was liberated to write his own books after this one.

A very exciting and well-wriiten book. I couldn't put it down till I have finished the last line.



While it is true that two EDS employees were rescued and smuggled out of Iran, the details were obtained from EDS men and Poss Perot. Whether they were completely true and authentic is an open question. Thus far, I have not heard from anyone challenging the facts.



Mr Follett, you did an excellent job.

A very exciting and well-wriiten book. I couldn't put it down till I have finished the last line.

While it is true that two EDS employees were rescued and smuggled out of Iran, the details were obtained from EDS men and Poss Perot. Whether they were completely true and authentic is an open question. Thus far, I have not heard from anyone challenging the facts.

Mr Follett, you did an excellent job.

A very exciting and well-wriiten book. I couldn't put it down till I have finished the last line.

While it is true that two EDS employees were rescued and smuggled out of Iran, the details were obtained from EDS men and Poss Perot. Whether they were completely true and authentic is an open question. Thus far, I have not heard from anyone challenging the facts.

Mr Follett, you did an excellent job.

Ken Follett captures in his unique, exciting style the true life story of Ross Perot's refusal to let the Iranian government hold two of his employees in captivity when they had done nothing wrong. The book follows the actual events through the capture of the the two employees, the ineffectual US government attempts to release them through diplomatic channels, and the assembly and training of the recovery team. Follett does an excellent job of profiling the team, detailing their military and professional backgrounds, as well as their personal situations and motivations for volunteering for the rescue mission. The author also gives an excellent profile of Ross Perot, the friendly, seemingly soft-spoken millionaire with a will of steel. This book is easy to read, with plenty of adventure and the occassional humorous story to keep it personal and human. An absolutely outstanding story, it not only tells a true story but teaches important lessons about leadership and loyalty.

Ken Follett captures in his unique, exciting style the true life story of Ross Perot's refusal to let the Iranian government hold two of his employees in captivity when they had done nothing wrong. The book follows the actual events through the capture of the the two employees, the ineffectual US government attempts to release them through diplomatic channels, and the assembly and training of the recovery team. Follett does an excellent job of profiling the team, detailing their military and professional backgrounds, as well as their personal situations and motivations for volunteering for the rescue mission. The author also gives an excellent profile of Ross Perot, the friendly, seemingly soft-spoken millionaire with a will of steel. This book is easy to read, with plenty of adventure and the occassional humorous story to keep it personal and human. An absolutely outstanding story, it not only tells a true story but teaches important lessons about leadership and loyalty.

Book Review: "On Wings of Eagles" by Ken Follett; published by William Morrow, New York in 1983; Non Fiction.

I read quite a few books, usually one or two per week on average, and my selection varies widely from the latest murder mystery fiction novels to the more mundane non fiction biographies of ordinary people that lived through extraordinary situations hundreds or even thousands of years ago. I am a firm believer that almost every book is worth reading especially if the alternative is not to read at all. I like reading so much that when left alone in an environment with no other suitable distraction I will often read the labels on product cartons including tissue boxes, furniture cushions, and even the tiny shampoo bottles found in hotels. Reading is educational, entertaining, and therapeutic while also being quite inexpensive, flexible, and completely portable. Like most readers I have developed a preference for a number of topics and acquired an addiction for a few select authors yet one book stands out among all others as by far the best book I have read in over 30 years of persistent study.

The book currently at the top of my list is "On Wings of Eagles" by Ken Follett. This book reads like a non-stop action thriller and it competes with the finest of the wild and dramatic novels out there yet the most incredible aspect of the story is that it is 100% true as recounted to the author first hand by many of the original subjects. I know this for fact as I have researched the story several times, at first in disbelief and then later out of admiration and a passion to find out even more about the origins of this unique situation and the amazing people that were involved. My research included querying numerous news archives, reviewing public profiles of several large corporations, communicating with a few veteran book collectors, and eventually to direct contact with the author who was kind enough to correspond with me on several occasions.

The story takes place in that late 1970s. It starts innocently enough when EDS, a large computer processing company based in Dallas, wins a contract from the Iranian government to provide computer hardware and software that will administer the Iranian social security system including taxes, finances, and payouts to the citizens of Iran. The company assigns hundreds of employees to the project and many of them are relocated to Iran where they setup a typical corporate office complete with cubicles, meeting rooms, typewriters, secretaries, etc. They install and maintain a massive mainframe computer system and live relatively normal lives including a Monday-Friday work week with shopping, social events, and errands on the weekends. A number of the main executives even brought their families with them to eliminate the burden of long term separation that often accompanies massive out of town projects. The wives furnish and decorate their houses and apartments, they buy cars and appliances, and the kids go to school just like they would back home in Dallas. Several families even have pets including dogs, cats, and birds.

For a while everything seems to be going well and the contract is worth many millions in revenue so the company is looking forward to a substantial profit as the deliverables are completed and payment is made. This is where the trouble starts. The Iranian government becomes unstable and they withhold payment on all invoices due to the company despite the significant work that has already been completed. Various fanatical groups emerge to stir up trouble in their desire to take over from the local government. Demonstrations are held in the streets, protests and vandalism become common, and civil order begins to erode. Eventually it becomes unsafe for the Americans to travel after dark and a curfew is imposed. The EDS workers and their families are concerned but they assume this is a temporary situation that will blow over in time once the political arguments are resolved. They are initially confident of their safety since they are providing a critical service to the Iranian government which in turn provides a valuable service to the Iranian citizens, so of course it would be unwise for Iran to turn on the service providers that are supporting them.

Unfortunately the opposite happens and in just a few short months the entire country is thrown into a full scale revolution which includes severe restrictions on travel. Violence, gunfire, and civil unrest are common place and there is now a much greater threat to Americans in particular. At this point the US government issues orders to evacuate all non-essential US embassy staff and American citizens living in Iran, so of course the company decides to evacuate the employees and temporarily shut down the project. Most of the employees put their belongings in storage or hire Iranian friends to look after their homes and possessions in anticipation of returning once order has been restored. A small skeleton crew of top executives and core employees volunteer to remain behind and maintain the system in hopes that the Iranian government will be restored, pay the outstanding invoices, and welcome the Americans back to resume their work on the lucrative contract.

Unbeknownst to EDS, the Iranian government was running out of money thus they were not able to pay the invoices however they also needed to keep the system running to maintain critical services if they were to eventually recover. To solve their dilemma one of the government officials decides to have two of the top executives arrested, interrogated, and jailed on false charges of corruption. The official refuses to pay the invoices and insists that the remaining crew continue to maintain the system. The executives are found guilty without a trial and bail is set at $13 million dollars. The entire process is quite unusual given the normal laws and legal processes in Iran so EDS immediately engages a team of top lawyers and US government officials to get their employees released from prison and returned to the US.

A long battle ensues driven primarily by Ross Perot, the EDS President, and his extensive network of powerful corporate and political allies. All options are considered including payment of the outrageous bail however nothing works. The US government is not willing to risk creating an international incident since the employees initially appear to be safe in jail, the legal advisors recommend against paying the bail since there is no assurance that the employees would be released and it could encourage further arrests or increased demands, and all attempts to reason or bargain with the Iranian government end in total failure. At this point Ross makes a bold move which would have been viewed as completely insane by many and actively thwarted by all government officials had they known about it at the time.

Ross decided to form a small team of his top executives by selecting those that were closest and most loyal to him. By coincidence they also just happened to be ex-military soldiers formerly assigned to Special Forces duty for the US Army. Ross then hired an old friend of his, a legendary retired military colonel and former Green Beret known as Col. Bull Simmons, to lead the newly formed commando team. He gathered the group in his Dallas headquarters, swore them to secrecy which included cover stories for their families, and charged them with doing whatever it took to rescue the imprisoned employees and bring them back to the US. He provided unlimited funds, transportation, and valuable connections to certain influential parties that could get things done. Then he stepped out of the way and let the team get to work.

Col. Simmons trained the team, conducted reconnaissance, obtained the proper gear, and arranged for the team to be smuggled into Iran. The remainder of the story is quite exciting and will keep you turning page after page well into the early morning hours as you fight off sleep and struggle to keep your eyes open for just one more paragraph. I won't ruin the surprise by relating the outcome but suffice to say it is quite an adventure that serves as a reminder of how strong the bonds can become between team members when they are led and motivated by the best and then made dependent on each other for survival against all odds.

In closing I recommend that you buy not one but several copies of this book. You will want one to read, one to keep in safe storage with your permanent collection, and several to give to your family and friends. In the past several years I have purchased more than a dozen copies and given them all away except for one which is an original first edition hardback that was signed by Ken Follett, Ross Perot, and 7 of the top executives that were involved in the rescue operation. That copy is safely stored away with my most treasured possessions where it remains for many months at a time until I get the urge to pull it out and read it again or show it to friends as I highly recommend an item for their shopping list on their next trip to the bookstore.

This is an enjoyable book. Follett is a great writer. Read it, you'll enjoy it.

What I found most interesting is that even though Perot hired Follett to write this book, it still makes Perot look like the most paranoid, wannabe, egomaniac out there.

Read this book with that in mind and you'll love it.

I picked this book up to read after visiting Mr. Perot's office. The book is a testimony to the commitment of a boss and fellow workers to risk it all to take care of your people and your friends. Whatever the debate within the State Department about Perot not giving diplomatic measures time to work, Perot realized time was of the essence and decisions could not wait.

A side lesson, apropos for today, was the rescue teams requirement to negotiate with government officials, tribal leaders, mullah's, and anyone toting a gun to achieve objectives or make progress.

This is a book about men who were selfless, placing their lives in great danger, adapting on the fly, and then returning to America to work in their buisness suits. A rare group indeed.

When JFK was confronted with missles in
Cuba, he didn't act the way that 90-I.Q.
idiot @ 1600 Pennsylvania has towards
9/11 - attacking a country that had noth-
ing to do with it, Iraq! Kennedy told the
commies to get the missles the hell out of
Cuba and they did! Perot had employees of
home of his Co.'s taken prisoner - and he
got them back. When Perot was good, along
with the late Gen. "Bull" Simmons, wanted
to know about prisoners of war in southeast
Asia, he sent Col. James Bo Gritz in there
to bring them back. Then came two disspirit-
ed runs for the White House and Perot wilted
into Economic Charts, graphs and paid for ap-
pearances on jerks like Anti-American Larry
King's show. What a let down. Still Follett
is a fine writer and captures Perot at his
best before the little guy's ego got away
from him and when he refused to help Bo get
elected in '92!