num_pages: 1147
description: Iran, February 1979, a critical moment in history, a time of ferment and revolution when mobs become judges, executions replace trials, old friends become sudden enemies, wives turn against husbands, and Iranians and foreigners alike wait fearfully for the next dread ruling - this is the setting for James Clavell's breathtaking fifth novel in his world-famous Asian Saga.Whirlwind takes place in a mesmerising period of twenty-four tumultuous days just after the Shah has left. The life-and-death struggle of rival factions to take control has resulted in a civil war in which few know who is on what side - or for how long. What is known is the fanatical hatred on all sides for foreigners - especially Americans and British.For a British helicopter company, secretly controlled by the Noble House of Hong Kong, the overwhelming question is how long will its pilots - American, Canadian, British, French, German, Finnish - be able to operate at their bases throughout the land. The war grows ever closer to them, even in the remotest areas, isolating them and their women, endangering not only their equipment but their lives. On the ground, in the hills, and in their always hazardous flights, they are all increasingly at bay.For the owners, to leave Iran is to be ruined both financially and in their power struggle for control of the Noble House itself. For the pilots, to leave is to lose a way of life they treasure in a country where two of them have beautiful Iranian wives and many of them exotic lovers. The allure of this seething, magical land of Omar Khayyam is strong for them all, but the whirlwind in which they are caught is even stronger and more perilous - forcing them out, yet preventing their escape.Throughout this epic tale of war and peace, the compelling stories of these men and of the women who love them are interlaced with those of assassins, spies, Khans, commandos, KGBs, bazaaris, Kash'kai tribesmen, mullahs, and political and religious fanatics who relentlessly encroach upon their existence.As intricately told and richly woven as the strands of a priceless Persian carpet, this brilliant novel sweeps the reader into a whirlwind of emotions: passionate, romantic, barbaric, heroic - James Claveel at his very best.
language: English
title: Whirlwind
titlecomplete: Whirlwind (Asian Saga, #6)
genres: Fiction, Historical, Adventure, Asia, Politics, Thriller, Iran, Classics, Novels, Historical Fiction
ratings_count: 7586
places: Tehran
series: Asian Saga: Publication Order, Asian Saga: Chronological Order
publisher: William Morrow and Company, Inc.