- Hardcover: 1147 pages
- Publisher: William Morrow & Co; First Edition edition (Nov 1986)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0688066631
- ISBN-13: 978-0688066635
- Product Dimensions: 23.9 x 16.8 x 5.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 787,460 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
'So abundant in sub-plots, characters, intrigue and atmosphere that its 1,000-plus pages seem barely adequate. Some of the most enjoyable reading around.' (Daily Mail )
'Clavell seems to creep inside the very soul of the land and the people . . . A damn good read' (Boston Herald )
'WHIRLWIND is strongly structured, skilfully plotted, rich in detail and very entertaining. Clavell brings the grimness and grandeur of an ancient land to life' (San Francisco Chronicle )
'James Clavell does more than entertain. He transports us into worlds we've not known, stimulating, educating, questioning . . . a wonder of detail' (Washington Post )
'The author handles the plot with all the confident authority of a ring-master, keeping a half-dozen themes and a formidable cast of characters moving along at a cracking pace. By the end I was breathless and lost in admiration at the sheer professionalism of it all' (Sunday Telegraph ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
'Clavell seems to creep inside the very soul of the land and the people . . . A damn good read' (Boston Herald )
'WHIRLWIND is strongly structured, skilfully plotted, rich in detail and very entertaining. Clavell brings the grimness and grandeur of an ancient land to life' (San Francisco Chronicle )
'James Clavell does more than entertain. He transports us into worlds we've not known, stimulating, educating, questioning . . . a wonder of detail' (Washington Post )
'The author handles the plot with all the confident authority of a ring-master, keeping a half-dozen themes and a formidable cast of characters moving along at a cracking pace. By the end I was breathless and lost in admiration at the sheer professionalism of it all' (Sunday Telegraph ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Product Description
Whirlwind is the story of three weeks in Tehran in February 1979: three weeks of fanaticism, passion, self-sacrifice and heartbreak. Caught between the revolutionaries and the forces of international intrigue is a team of professional pilots. They are ordered to flee to safety with their helicopters. Two of them, both Europeans, have Iranian wives whom they love beyond safety and politics.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
His only novel not playing the far east. This tells the story of a small helicopter outfit, supplying the iranian oil rigs with everything needed. The company belongs to Struan's Noble House, too, the boss is Andrew Gavallan, Ian Dunross' nephew. It depicts the events just before and during the revolution, toppling the Shah, and about all the trouble that came for S-G Helicopters due to the fightings between the different iranian factions (muslim fanatics, soviet-led communist rebels and local tribes) and between all of them and any non-iranian person. There's romance, too, thanks to two threads, one about a finnish pilot of S-G Helicopters and his iranian wife, trying to escape via Turkey, and the other one with another pilot who has also an iranian wife. This is also a very good book by Clavell, full of action, adventure, suspense, romance and exotic places and people.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The map contained within the inner-cover pages of the hardback edition portrays the 'hottest' geo-political region on the planet today.
Iran is in the centre, bordered by Afghanistan and Pakistan to the east, Iraq and Syria to the west, the old USSR to the north. The only significant country missing from this equation is Israel.
At the bottom is the Persian Gulf with the Strait of Hormuz channeling into the Gulf of Oman.
If there is going to be a 'whirlwind', a potential flashpoint for a terrible new war (or even World War III), it could very well be right within the latitude and longitude of this map's co-ordinates.
The actual book itself is a superior - though slightly old-fashioned - adventure thriller. Lots of characters; linking sub-plots; suspense and tension cranking up like an epic disaster movie. But - as the previous reviewer indicated - the reader gets a long and detailed lesson regarding the history of Islamic Fundamentalism in Iran. The machinations of the CIA and the KGB. The horrors that the Shah and his evil secret police visited upon this nation, with overt Western backing. And the emergent fresh horrors visited by the next set of secret police...
'Whirlwind' is a primer, an introduction, to the present timebomb ticking away day after day. Clavell shows the humanity and sacrifice of the ordinary Iranians, men and women, who were desperately trying to survive through the terrifying crises happening all around them during the Revolution. And one feels for their modern day counterparts facing a new and just as frightening set of circumstances/possibilities.
Iran is in the centre, bordered by Afghanistan and Pakistan to the east, Iraq and Syria to the west, the old USSR to the north. The only significant country missing from this equation is Israel.
At the bottom is the Persian Gulf with the Strait of Hormuz channeling into the Gulf of Oman.
If there is going to be a 'whirlwind', a potential flashpoint for a terrible new war (or even World War III), it could very well be right within the latitude and longitude of this map's co-ordinates.
The actual book itself is a superior - though slightly old-fashioned - adventure thriller. Lots of characters; linking sub-plots; suspense and tension cranking up like an epic disaster movie. But - as the previous reviewer indicated - the reader gets a long and detailed lesson regarding the history of Islamic Fundamentalism in Iran. The machinations of the CIA and the KGB. The horrors that the Shah and his evil secret police visited upon this nation, with overt Western backing. And the emergent fresh horrors visited by the next set of secret police...
'Whirlwind' is a primer, an introduction, to the present timebomb ticking away day after day. Clavell shows the humanity and sacrifice of the ordinary Iranians, men and women, who were desperately trying to survive through the terrifying crises happening all around them during the Revolution. And one feels for their modern day counterparts facing a new and just as frightening set of circumstances/possibilities.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This final part of Clavell's "Asian Saga" is also undoubtedly his best. Clavell takes us on a moving, thrilling and deeply absorbing ride throug the life of commercial helicopter pilots surviving the vicious and bloody revolution by religious fanatics as Khomeni returns to rule in Iran. From beginning to end this isa writer at the very height of his talent and it shows in every word.
Don't be put off by the 1200-plus page count or the cast of over a hundred characters. There's no denying the book can be hard work with this much information and this many protagonists, but it's so much more rewarding than almost every other book you could find on this site once you get going.
Reminiscant of Ernest Hemmingway and Graham Greene, with emotions and lives torn to pieces in times of conflict, you will not so much read a story as live another life through the pages of this exceptional novel. Add it to your shopping cart this instant.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
beautiful
A tale of love, business and a country crumbling, set in the middle east it portrays the stories of western workers in an Islamic country during a civil uprising. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Robert
Whirlwind, James clavell
'Whirlwind' is one of the later books (shogun/tia-pan/gia-jin/king rat/noble house)in a loosely connected series. This one being more loosely connected than the rest. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Mr. R. Rippingale
Great
Some people don't care for this book as much as the others in the Asian saga. I think its one of the best. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Rockpile
Relevance
Given the current discord in the world about the Muslim faith, read this book to gain an insight into why the middle east is as it is and why it reacts as it does to 'infidels'.
Published on 9 Aug 2005 by D. G. Reid
Non-stop Excitement
I have read all of James Clavells books, and this one is excellent. One of his best.
Published on 5 May 2001
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