Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed

Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed
by Ben R. Rich, Leo Janos

Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed
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Book Summary Information

Author: Ben R. Rich, Leo Janos
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1994-10
ISBN: 0316743305
Number of pages: 370
Publisher: Little Brown & Co (T)

Book Reviews of Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed

Book Review: Great book on a legendary company
Summary: 4 Stars

This book is based as an (auto)biography of Ben Rich the boss of the legendary Lockheed "Skunkworks". It is a lot more than that however with an overview of secret 'black-ops' of the cold war period. The development of the U2 and SR-71 as well as an in depth introduction to the F117 Stealth fighter make this a must have book for the technophile. But it is more than that, there are great snippets from 'other voices' such as engineers, pilots and even the military have their say about the Skunk works and in particular its enigmatic founder Clarence "Kelly" Johnson.

This book does not have a lot of personal details about Ben Rich but concentrates on the three main aircraft that the Skunk works are famous for and allows an insight to military-private sector relationships that is hard to find in other books.

My only criticism is the end chapter on how to make things better for the industry which seems a little 'tacked on' to try and give the book a point and this could have been done throughout the previous chapters in a better constructed manner.

Apart from that it is a good book and due to the co-authorship of Leo Janos (who co-wrote the Chuck Yaeger autobiography) it is very readable and an interesting addition to military history of the cold war.

Summary of Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed

The onetime director of Lockheed's Skunk Works, the top-secret facility that developed the U-2 spy plane and the stealth fighter, reveals the behind-the-scenes drama involved in the development of the military's aerial technology. 50,000 first printing.

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