"The history of the Pettican family from their origins in Northern Essex in the 1600's through to the 20th century. Documenting nearly 200 family members their occupations and the key moments in their lives, including those who served for their country in the various wars of the late 19th and 20th centuries."--Back cover
The gripping epic novel of the 1979 Iranian Revolution by the #1 New York Times bestselling author and unparalleled master of historical fiction, James Clavell Tehran, Iran 1979: Simmering religious tensions finally explode, and the Iranian people rise up against the Shah. The country, once secular, is now thrown back into an orthodoxy that threatens to tear it apart. The United States and Russia go on high alert, with warships heading to the Middle East. The region becomes a powder keg, waiting to explode. Caught up in the revolution are a British helicopter company and its pilots. The oil fields of Iran need helicopters to ferry workers and administrators, and when the main US aviation company pulls out of Iran fearing what might come next, S-G Helicopters steps in to fill the void. Soon they realize that they, too, must leave or risk losing all their machines to whomever takes control of the country. The company risks bankruptcy if that happens—which would ruin Andrew Gallavan and reveal that the company is actually owned by a secret Hong Kong–based consortium: Noble House, controlled by the Struan family. Caught in between is his son, Scot, a pilot in Iran who must help save his father’s company, but also the other pilots and their families. In a risky move, the pilots concoct a plan to get their choppers out of Iran. But will they be able to escape a country crumbling around them before it’s too late? A rich panoply of characters brings to life the events of forty years ago, events that even now have ramifications throughout the Middle East and beyond. Fast-paced and full of action and intrigue, Whirlwind is an intricately plotted and detailed tale of war, love, and the ingenuity of the human spirit, told by James Clavell, the unparalleled master of historical fiction.
Tehran, Iran 1979: Simmering religious tensions explode and the Shah is forced to flee Iran. A British helicopter company—secretly owned by the Noble House of Hong Kong—with a fleet of helicopters registered in Iran faces bankruptcy if their copters are claimed or destroyed by the uprising. The pilots need to escape, but they’ve built lives in Iran, some even have families. Finnish pilot Erikki Yokkonen has married Azadeh, an Iranian woman of noble birth, whose family is caught up in the political situation exploding around them. Tasked with saving as many of the helicopters as he can and desperate to save his love, Erikki and Azadeh become caught up in the events around them. Threaded throughout master storyteller James Clavell’s novel Whirlwind much like a shimmering strand of silk woven through an elaborate Persian carpet, is the love story of two people from different backgrounds. They have been brought together by a love stronger than either one, a love stronger than the revolutionary fires that burn all around them. A moving story, expertly told, unthreaded from the original masterwork, and allowed to stand on its own, brilliantly.