Customer Reviews

Beyond the Horizons: The Lockheed Story

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The saga of America's leading aerospace corporation, its rise to technological excellence and financial success is to a large extent the story of how an extraordinarily gifted and at times overbearing aeronautical engineer helped to transform a meager airplane manufacturer into the world's most formidable air and space powerhouse. Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson joined Lockheed in the 1930s and immediately put his imprint on the company's products. He argued successfully to install a twin tail on the Electra airliner, thereby improving its stability. He continued infuencing designs at the company for the next forty years. The revolutionary World War II fighter, the P-38, the first operational American jet, the P-80, the high-flying spyplane, the U-2, and the ultra-fast reconnaissance platform, the SR-71, all emanated from the fertile mind of Kelly Johnson. Walter Boyne brings alive the life of this amazing engineer and the lives of the zealots who worked with Johnson in that legendary think tank/workshop known as the Lockheed Skunk Works. With the benefit of having known Johnson, Boyne brings a human touch to this fascinating story. We learn, for example, that Johnson laid down fourteen inviolable rules for his fiefdom that embodied his often repeated mantra: "Be quick, be quiet, be on time." The legacy of this design genius is to be found in the Skunk Works' output since Johnson's departure -- the incredible F-117A Stealth Fighter, the Air Force's next generation air dominance fighter, the F-22 Raptor, and the X-33, which is a prototype of the Venture Star spacecraft destined to replace the aging and costly Space Shuttle. In the 576 pages of this opus, Boyne superbly weaves Johnson's intriguing story into the mosaic of both the corporate history of Lockheed and the chronicle of twentieth century airpower. This masterful book provides the insight necessary to understand what made the Skunk Works and its parent organization the leading players in the aerospace industry. Boyne asserts that the people carrying on the work of Kelly Johnson aim beyond the horizons and we should be grateful for that. And we should also be grateful that a distinguished aviation historian like Walter Boyne has so accurately and comprehensively recorded such an important slice of aerospace development.

Once opened, this book cannot nor will not be put down. If you like aviation history, especially without the status quo technical jargon, this book's for you. Mr. Boyne has magically transformed some 85 years of aero, astro and hydro history into a very enjoyable and educational work. Indeed, even lockheed officials and employees will learn something from this soon to be standard reference on one of America's leading defense contractors.

Extremely interesting and thorough work on one of America's--the World's, true leaders in aeronautics and astronautics. There's no doubt that Mr. Boyne did more than his homework to accomplish this well written history dealing with everything Lockheed has openly produced.

The author has sucessfully captured the exciting behind-the-scenes action that takes place during the mammoth effort to design and fabricate the world's most sophisticated aircraft. I highly recommend this historically accurate foray into the inner workings of one of our country's most successful aerospace giants.

The author has sucessfully captured the exciting behind-the-scenes action that takes place during the mammoth effort to design and fabricate the world's most sophisticated aircraft. I highly recommend this historically accurate foray into the inner workings of one of our country's most sucessful producer of aerospace products.

I'm not particularly an avid reader of military history books or contemporary history books in general, but after a coworker described this book, curiosity got the better of me and I bought it. I'm glad I did.
Ben R. Rich joined the legendary 'Skunk Works' as a young engineer, worked on some of the most secretive military projects in recent history, and later ended up taking over management of Skunk Works. As a result, perhaps no one else in the world has as much first hand knowledge of these projects, and no one else is better positioned to chronicle some of America's military crown jewels.

It is with interesting first hand accounts from pilots, air force personnel, and highly placed government officials. Rich covers the struggles encountered while building various classified aircraft: the U2, SR-71 BlackBird, the stealth fighter, the stealth boat, among others. He also lightly delves into the darker side of the defense industry: politics, waste, and bureaucracy.

An amazing read, and highly recommended.
Don Shin

This book was very disappointing but I should have known it would be. Walter Boyne finds it difficult, if not impossible to write negatively about aviation issues unless those issues involve threats to his beloved Air Force. He follows true to his nature in Beyond the Horizons: The Lockheed Story. I had hoped to find a book the equal to Flying High (the story of Boeing). Beyond the Horizons should have been a book that discussed the successes and failures of Lockheed in such a way that a reader could learn from them. I, at least, expected an honest analysis of the L-1011 fiasco but instead read that it was a great airplane and pilots loved it. This should have been a book about a business that manufactures airplanes not a book centered on the airplanes manufactured. Readers wanting to learn about Lockheed as a business should read The Skunk Works by Ben Rich. It provides an excellent view into the business (and politics) of aircraft manufacturing. Mr. Boyne's book is another of his many books glorifying the US Air Force and the industries that support and depend on it.