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On Wings Of Eagles
''On Wings of Eagles'' is a 1983 non-fiction thriller written by British author Ken Follett. Set against the background of the Iranian revolution, it tells a story based on the rescue of Paul Chiapparone and Bill Gaylord from prison in Tehran by a team of Electronic Data Systems executives led by retired Col. Arthur D. Simons. The story, according to Follett, is not fictionalized or a 'non-fiction novel'. Production Ross Perot contacted Ken Follett, who was paid by his publisher, to write ''On Wings of Eagles.'' Follett based his account on many conversations with the people directly involved, and had the drafts checked by them as well. Aside from changing a few names, he believes the story to be what really happened. Summary In December 1978 two EDS executives working in pre-revolutionary Tehran are arrested on suspicion of bribery. Bail was set at US$13 million (90 million Iranian toman). When H. Ross Perot, head of the Dallas-based company hears about it, he decides to extr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
WikiProject Novels
A WikiProject, or Wikiproject, is a Wikimedia movement affinity group for contributors with shared goals. WikiProjects are prevalent within the largest wiki, Wikipedia, and exist to varying degrees within sister projects such as Wiktionary, Wikiquote, Wikidata, and Wikisource. They also exist in different languages, and translation of articles is a form of their collaboration. During the COVID-19 pandemic, CBS News noted the role of Wikipedia's WikiProject Medicine in maintaining the accuracy of articles related to the disease. Another WikiProject that has drawn attention is WikiProject Women Scientists, which was profiled by '' Smithsonian'' for its efforts to improve coverage of women scientists which the profile noted had "helped increase the number of female scientists on Wikipedia from around 1,600 to over 5,000". On Wikipedia Some Wikipedia WikiProjects are substantial enough to engage in cooperative activities with outside organizations relevant to the field at issue. For e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and the replacement of his government with an Islamic republic under the rule of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a leader of one of the factions in the revolt. The revolution was supported by various Organizations of the Iranian Revolution, leftist and Islamist organizations. After the 1953 Iranian coup d'état, Pahlavi had aligned with the United States and the Western Bloc to rule more firmly as an authoritarian monarch. He relied heavily on support from the United States to hold on to power which he held for a further 26 years. This led to the 1963 White Revolution and the arrest and exile of Ayatollah Khomeini in 1964. Amidst massive tensions between Khomeini and the Shah, demonstrations began in Octob ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Argo (2012 Film)
''Argo'' is a 2012 American historical drama thriller film directed, produced by and starring Ben Affleck. The screenplay, written by Chris Terrio, was adapted from the 1999 book of the same name by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency operative Tony Mendez, his memoir ''The Master of Disguise'', and the 2007 ''Wired'' article by Joshuah Bearman, "The Great Escape: How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans from Tehran". The film deals with the "Canadian Caper", in which Mendez led the rescue of six U.S. diplomats from Tehran, Iran, under the guise of filming a science fiction film during the 1979–1981 Iran hostage crisis. The film, which also has Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, and John Goodman in supporting roles, was released in the United States on October 12, 2012. It was produced by Grant Heslov, Affleck and George Clooney. ''Argo'' was praised for the acting (particularly Arkin and Goodman's), Affleck's direction, Terrio's screenplay, the editing, and Desplat' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bristow Helicopters
Bristow Helicopters Limited is a British civil helicopter operator originally based at Aberdeen Airport, Scotland, which is currently a part of the U.S.-based Bristow Group (, S&P 600 component) which in turn has its corporate headquarters in Houston, Texas, U.S. In 2020, Bristow Group was merged with Era Helicopters, a large U.S.-based commercial helicopter operator that was previously a division of Era Aviation, with the two companies then continuing to use the Bristow name. Bristow Helicopters was established by Alan Bristow in June 1955; two years later, it acquired its first pair of helicopters in the form of the Westland Widgeon. The company quickly expanded overseas as well as various services, including helicopter training, oil exploration, search and rescue, and charter flights. Having entered the African market in 1960, Nigeria became Bristow's biggest profit centre during the 1970s. Entering the North Sea market, also during the 1960s, Bristow became Aberdeen Airp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Clavell
James Clavell (born Charles Edmund Dumaresq Clavell; 10 October 1921 – 7 September 1994) was an Australian-born British (later naturalized American) writer, screenwriter, director, and World War II veteran and prisoner of war. Clavell is best known as the author of his Asian Saga novels, a number of which have had television adaptations. Clavell also wrote such screenplays as those for '' The Fly'' (1958) (based on the short story by George Langelaan) and '' The Great Escape'' (1963) (based on the personal account of Paul Brickhill). He directed the popular 1967 film ''To Sir, with Love'' for which he also wrote the script. Biography Early life Born in Australia, Clavell was the son of Commander Richard Charles Clavell, a Royal Navy officer who was stationed in Australia with the Royal Australian Navy from 1920 to 1922. Richard Clavell was posted back to England when James was nine months old. Clavell was educated at Portsmouth Grammar School. World War II In 1940, Clav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whirlwind (novel)
''Whirlwind'' is a novel by James Clavell, first published in 1986. It forms part of The Asian Saga and is chronologically the last book in the series. Set in Iran in early 1979, it follows the fortunes of a group of Struan's helicopter pilots, Iranian officials and oil men and their families in the turmoil surrounding the fall of the Iranian monarchy and the rise of the Ayatollah Khomeini. Like many of Clavell's novels, it is very long and is composed of many interweaving plot strands involving a large cast of characters, as well as a detailed portrayal of Iranian culture. The novel is closely inspired by the true struggle of Bristow Helicopters to escape the revolutionary forces and get their employees and equipment out of the unstable, deteriorating situation in the region. Alan Bristow, chairman of Bristow Helicopter commissioned a journalist, Jackie Griffin, who was married to one of his employees to write a report on the events in Iran. Bristow then gave his friend, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Crenna
Richard Donald Crenna (November 30, 1926 – January 17, 2003) was an American film, television and radio actor. Crenna starred in such motion pictures as ''The Sand Pebbles'', ''Wait Until Dark'', ''Un Flic'', ''Body Heat'', the first three ''Rambo'' films, ''Hot Shots! Part Deux'', and ''The Flamingo Kid''. His first success came on radio in 1948 as high school student Walter Denton co-starring with Eve Arden and Gale Gordon in the CBS series ''Our Miss Brooks''. Crenna continued with the comedy in its 1952 move into television. He also starred as Luke McCoy in the ABC, and later CBS, television series ''The Real McCoys'' (1957–1963). In 1985, he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for his portrayal of the title role in ''The Rape of Richard Beck''. Early life Crenna was born November 30, 1926, in Los Angeles, California, the only child of Edith Josephine (née Pollette), who was a hotel manager in Los Angeles, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Burt Lancaster
Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American actor and producer. Initially known for playing tough guys with a tender heart, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-year career in film and, later, television. He was a four-time nominee for the Academy Award for Best Actor (winning once), and he also won two BAFTA Awards and one Golden Globe Award for Best Lead Actor. The American Film Institute ranks Lancaster as of the greatest male stars of classic Hollywood cinema. Lancaster performed as a circus acrobat in the 1930s. After serving in World War II, the 33-year-old Lancaster landed a role in a Broadway play and drew the attention of a Hollywood agent. His breakthrough role was in the film noir ''The Killers'' in 1946 alongside Ava Gardner. A critical success, it launched both of their careers. Not long after in 1948, Lancaster starred alongside Barbara Stanwyck in the commercially and criticall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frankfurt, Germany
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its namesake Main River, it forms a continuous conurbation with the neighboring city of Offenbach am Main and its urban area has a population of over 2.3 million. The city is the heart of the larger Rhine-Main metropolitan region, which has a population of more than 5.6 million and is Germany's second-largest metropolitan region after the Rhine-Ruhr region. Frankfurt's central business district, the Bankenviertel, lies about northwest of the geographic center of the EU at Gadheim, Lower Franconia. Like France and Franconia, the city is named after the Franks. Frankfurt is the largest city in the Rhine Franconian dialect area. Frankfurt was a city state, the Free City of Frankfurt, for nearly five centuries, and was one of the most importan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parsian Azadi Hotel
The Parsian Azadi Hotel ( fa, هتل پارسیان آزادی) is one of the largest and tallest hotels in Tehran, situated in the northern Evin neighborhood, overlooking the city. The hotel has 475 guest rooms & suites. History On May 24, 1976, Hyatt International signed a contract to manage a new hotel to be built by the Royal Estates Administration in Tehran. It was the third Hyatt to open in Iran, following the Hyatt Omar Khayyam in the city of Mashhad, opened in November 1973, and the Hyatt Regency Caspian, a seaside beach resort in Chalus, opened on March 11, 1976. The Hyatt Crown Tehran was completed two years later, but only partially opened on September 1, 1978, due to the then-ongoing Iranian Revolution. In February 1979, all foreign Hyatt staff departed the hotel due to safety concerns and the Hyatt Crown Tehran was transferred from the REA to the Pahlavi Foundation. On February 12, 1979, the Hyatt Crown Tehran was attacked by Revolutionary Guards. It was extensively ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Systems Engineering
Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of engineering and engineering management that focuses on how to design, integrate, and manage complex systems over their enterprise life cycle, life cycles. At its core, systems engineering utilizes systems thinking principles to organize this body of knowledge. The individual outcome of such efforts, an engineered system, can be defined as a combination of components that work in synergy to collectively perform a useful Function (engineering), function. Issues such as requirements engineering, reliability, logistics, coordination of different teams, testing and evaluation, maintainability and many other Discipline (academia), disciplines necessary for successful system design, development, implementation, and ultimate decommission become more difficult when dealing with large or complex projects. Systems engineering deals with work-processes, optimization methods, and risk management tools in such projects. It overlaps technical ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Qasr Prison
The Museum of the Qasr Prison ( fa, موزه زندان قصر ''muze-ye zendān-e qasr'') is a historical complex in Tehran, Iran. Formerly referred to as the Qasr Prison ( ''zendān-e qasr'', "Mansion prison"), it was one of the oldest political prisons in Iran, which is now a museum complex surrounded by a public park. History Qasr was originally built in 1790 as Qajar Palace, a palace with extensive gardens of which nothing but the names remain, in the reign of Fat′h Ali Shah Qajar, Fath-ali Shah of the Qajar dynasty. In 1929 it was repurposed as a prison, the first modern detention center in the country, in which prisoners had legal rights. Nikolai Markov (architect), Nikolai Markov, a Georgian architect who settled in Iran after the Russian Revolution, did the rebuild, combining urban industrial design with traditional Iranian features such as adobe bricks, which became known as Markovian bricks. It had 192 rooms for 700 prisoners, of which about 100 cells were solita ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
