On Wings of Eagles

By: Ken Follett

Narrated by: Marcia Hyde, Larry Robinson, Ralph Williams, Joan Tuit, R. Ted Andriese

Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

When two of his American employees were held hostage in a heavily guarded prison fortress in Iran, one man took matters into his own hands: American businessman H. Ross Perot. His team consisted of a group of volunteers from the executive ranks of his corporation, hand-picked and trained by a retired Green Beret officer. To free the imprisoned Americans, they would face incalculable odds on a mission that only true heroes would have dared.

©1983 Ken Follett (P)1984 Brilliance Audio

Critic reviews

"A marvelous, rare, terrific read...as exciting as a novel." ( USA Today)
"Superb....Ken Follett's fans may be reluctant to see him return to fiction." ( The New York Times Book Review)

Great listen

I would look forward to the drive, as I could listen to this book. The narration was good and the story even had a few twists to it. Worth a listen.

What's the hurry?

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

yes, with reservations

What didn’t you like about the narrators’s performance?

Most of the time they acted like they were paid by the hour. Let's get this thing over with - the faster we read, the sooner we can go and have a beer. Really distracting at times.

Hidden gem of business books - beyond inspiring!

I agree the narration is weak, but this story is so absolutely unbelievable I could not put it down. Before, I thought Ross Perot was just another Texas tycoon. While Chairman of EDS Ross flew himself into the heart of revolutionary Tehran! I expected a thrilling story, but instead walked away understanding how living more like Ross Perot could change my company's culture. Ross recruited timeless, unflappable leaders.

Horrible Narration

This book jumps around between like three narrators. The book calls it a “full cast” but they aren’t playing the roles of different people. It literally jumps every so many minutes. It is very distracting. Good story, but I would NOT recommend the audiobook.

Absolutely amazing true story

The beginning is a little slow and I worried that this would not be of typical Follett caliber. But the excitement and intensity grows steadily to a peak. Why someone thought it should be narrated by a “cast” is beyond me. It added nothing at all. And strangely, the two women named among the five narrators never made an appearance. The three men were all excellent narrators, but certainly weren’t all needed.

Great story, but you have to get past the first few chapters

This really is a great story, and although pretty well read, there is a very strange and distracting bouncing between two different narrators, probably because some chapters might have been re-recorded after the fact based on other reviewer‘s comments possibly. Additionally, you really have to get past the first few chapters which sound a bit like a political ad for one of Ross Perot’s presidential campaigns. Once you get past that, and can ignore the strange switching between narrators, it’s a really good story, it reminded me of the movie ‘Argo’, but of course a different rescue situation in Iran. Some dated attitudes and ideas of course, but a really riveting story.

An exceptional Story, Exceptionally Told

Although at times a homage to Ross Perot and his company EDS, this is a compelling story.

Good story terrible audio editing

The story was very good. One of those stories where you know the ending going in, but still enjoy the ride.
The audio editing on the other hand was awful. The narrator's voice would change significantly mid-sentence. It was obvious the recordings were done on different days and no attempt was made to seamlessly stitch the recordings together. Also the speed kept changing. The narrator would read fast, then slow, then fast again. The pitch of his voice changed accordingly, and can someone explain why, after 13 chapters Colonel Bullworth suddenly starts speaking with a heavy Boston accent??

There were several passages that Mr. Follett must have gotten straight from Perot - they were soooo self serving and mushsy, he was almost a God!

Would have given it a higher rating if the audio editing was done better. All-in-all, worth the listen.

Phenomenal story but a clearly old recording

If you could sum up On Wings of Eagles in three words, what would they be?

Fortitude
Persistence
Determination

What was one of the most memorable moments of On Wings of Eagles?

The moment when Carter listened to his adviser who suggested sticking with the Shah-friendly contingent in Iran and NOT pursue a diplomatic relationship with Khomenei (sp?) in early 1979 while Khomenei was still in Paris. That may not have prevented the hostage crisis, but it seems to me that such a meeting could have had lasting effects even into today's world.

How could the performance have been better?

Rerecord it! The performers were fine, but the recording itself is WELL below Brilliance Audio's and Audible's standards!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There were too many to count and/or single out.

Any additional comments?

The story is a must read!! However, the recording is a LONG way from Brilliance Audio's and Audible's typical audio quality!! It sounds like the master was a cassette tape that had been lost in a closet for several years. The speed of the narrators was inconsistent and there were many times where the recording seemed to skip ahead, as well as many times that the recording sounded quite muffled.Even given the problems with the recording, I would highly recommend this book or even the audiobook.

Interesting

I enjoyed the story line, didn’t enjoy narration. It read like the were speed reading and I needed to slip narration down. It was also hard to tell who was who. I didn’t realize that Ross Perot was involved in rescuing his employees.