![Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War by Coram, Robert [03 April 2003]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41kVGCdoHqL._AC_UL160_SR160,160_.jpg)
I think it's fantastic book and have learned so much. Wish I would have read it when I first started testing and working for the government. I think every military test officer should read this.
I divide this book into three sections. I'm a history buff and especially like aviation history which is why I read it, but there is so much more.
Section 1: Fighter pilot Boyd. He became the top dog fighter and was undefeated. He could win any air battle in less than 40 seconds. He wrote a book on fighter tactics that changed not only the US, but the world.
Section 2. Engineer Boyd. He goes back to school. Develops the mathematical models for Energy-Maneuver. It revolutionizes aircraft design and is used to develop the F-15, F-16, F-18 and the A-10.
Section 3. Academic Boyd. Boyd reads hundreds of history books on war and develops new tactics and ways of thinking about battle. Out of this comes his famous OODA Loop, Observe-Orient-Decide-Act. For these efforts, history will be rank him up there with Sun Tzu and Von Clausewitz. In the 1980s, he and a small cadre of Pentagon reformers use these techniques to fight the Pentagon generals/contractors to reform acquisition. This section explains acquisition dynamics, how DOT&E was started, how IDA (Institute of Defense Analysis) was started. Lots of good information on acquisition strategic thought, reporting, presentations, playing a long game.
Boyd was his own worst enemy. He was insecure, narcissistic, and volatile. He also models how not to interact with decision makers.
Hope you get a chance to read this.
Enjoy,
Neil
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Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2019
Verified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2019
Verified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on November 22, 2020
Though with an extensive military background, I had not known about John Boyd until relatively recently, and this book helped me mightily along the way to becoming familiar with this strategic giant. I must say, however, that I’ve surprisingly found most of my Army theorist friends had never before heard of him, and this includes people who were on GEN Schwarzkopf’s Jedi Knights Staff, the folks who actually planned the details of the Iraq I Invasion. Some even said it was intuitively obvious that the Desert Storm “Left-Hook” strategy (for which the book gives large credit to Boyd) should have been the one chosen. Nevertheless, I did find one Army Jedi Knights high-level theorist who knew of Boyd...but didn’t know of his contribution to Desert Storm planning. Perhaps not surprisingly I did find any number of Air Force friends who knew of pilot Boyd’s contributions to maneuver conflict strategy.
For those curious about Boyd’s OODA Loop (aka the Boyd Cycle), I’ve included a Wikipedia graphic.
Bottom-line, I highly recommend Coram’s book for any serious student of strategy.
Of possible interest: [[ASIN:1986671054 Strategy Pure and Simple: Essential Moves for Winning in Competition and Cooperation]] and
[[ASIN:1537323377 George Washington's Liberty Key: Mount Vernon's Bastille Key – the Mystery and Magic of Its Body, Mind, and Soul]], a best-seller at Mount Vernon. “Character is Key for Liberty!”
Verified Purchase
Boyd: a strategist’s strategist
By William J. Bahr on November 22, 2020
This book is an excellent biography of America fighter pilot and strategist John Boyd. Well-researched and well-written, the book is something of an easy read for those familiar with the military, a bit of technology, and strategy. Half strategic theory and half exploits, trials, and tribulations of a fighter pilot’s fighter pilot, the book paints a vivid portrait of a curiously curmudgeonly autodidact-polymath.By William J. Bahr on November 22, 2020
Though with an extensive military background, I had not known about John Boyd until relatively recently, and this book helped me mightily along the way to becoming familiar with this strategic giant. I must say, however, that I’ve surprisingly found most of my Army theorist friends had never before heard of him, and this includes people who were on GEN Schwarzkopf’s Jedi Knights Staff, the folks who actually planned the details of the Iraq I Invasion. Some even said it was intuitively obvious that the Desert Storm “Left-Hook” strategy (for which the book gives large credit to Boyd) should have been the one chosen. Nevertheless, I did find one Army Jedi Knights high-level theorist who knew of Boyd...but didn’t know of his contribution to Desert Storm planning. Perhaps not surprisingly I did find any number of Air Force friends who knew of pilot Boyd’s contributions to maneuver conflict strategy.
For those curious about Boyd’s OODA Loop (aka the Boyd Cycle), I’ve included a Wikipedia graphic.
Bottom-line, I highly recommend Coram’s book for any serious student of strategy.
Of possible interest: [[ASIN:1986671054 Strategy Pure and Simple: Essential Moves for Winning in Competition and Cooperation]] and
[[ASIN:1537323377 George Washington's Liberty Key: Mount Vernon's Bastille Key – the Mystery and Magic of Its Body, Mind, and Soul]], a best-seller at Mount Vernon. “Character is Key for Liberty!”
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Top reviews from other countries
John B
Overrated
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 15, 2018Verified Purchase
AGF
Boyd, the silent genius
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 13, 2018Verified Purchase
JOHN
HISTORICAL & THOUGHT PROVOKING
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 14, 2021Verified Purchase
Garrett
An engaging biography on an unorthodox, driven, conceptual revolutionary - and a totemic fighter pilot. Must Read.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 8, 2016Verified Purchase
M. P. Featherstone
A must read book for anyone interested in modern air combat
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 25, 2020Verified Purchase
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