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Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War Paperback – May 10, 2004

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John Boyd may be the most remarkable unsung hero in all of American military history. Some remember him as the greatest U.S. fighter pilot ever -- the man who, in simulated air-to-air combat, defeated every challenger in less than forty seconds. Some recall him as the father of our country's most legendary fighter aircraft -- the F-15 and F-16. Still others think of Boyd as the most influential military theorist since Sun Tzu. They know only half the story.

Boyd, more than any other person, saved fighter aviation from the predations of the Strategic Air Command. His manual of fighter tactics changed the way every air force in the world flies and fights. He discovered a physical theory that forever altered the way fighter planes were designed. Later in life, he developed a theory of military strategy that has been adopted throughout the world and even applied to business models for maximizing efficiency. And in one of the most startling and unknown stories of modern military history, the Air Force fighter pilot taught the U.S. Marine Corps how to fight war on the ground. His ideas led to America's swift and decisive victory in the Gulf War and foretold the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

On a personal level, Boyd rarely met a general he couldn't offend. He was loud, abrasive, and profane. A man of daring, ferocious passion and intractable stubbornness, he was that most American of heroes -- a rebel who cared not for his reputation or fortune but for his country. He was a true patriot, a man who made a career of challenging the shortsighted and self-serving Pentagon bureaucracy. America owes Boyd and his disciples -- the six men known as the "Acolytes" -- a great debt.

Robert Coram finally brings to light the remarkable story of a man who polarized all who knew him, but who left a legacy that will influence the military -- and all of America -- for decades to come . . .

Print length

504 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Back Bay Books
Publication date

May 10, 2004
Dimensions

5.5 x 1.25 x 8.25 inches
ISBN-10

0316796883
ISBN-13

978-0316796880
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Popular Highlights in this book

What are popular highlights?

The most amazing aspect of the OODA Loop is that the losing side rarely understands what happened.
Highlighted by 649 Kindle readers
To attack the mind of the opponent, to unravel the commander before a battle even begins, is the essence of fighting smart.
Highlighted by 642 Kindle readers
“You gotta challenge all assumptions. If you don’t, what is doctrine on day one becomes dogma forever after.”
Highlighted by 343 Kindle readers

Editorial Reviews

Review

""Fascinating....An excellent book....Coram captures the dazzling diversity of John Boyd--fighter pilot, aerial tactician, engineer, and scholar."

About the Author

Robert Coram was twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for his work as a reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He is the author of seven novels and four nonfiction books, including American Patriot: The Life and Wars of Colonel Bud Day and Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War. He lives in Atlanta.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Back Bay Books; Reprint edition (May 10, 2004)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 504 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0316796883
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0316796880
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1.25 x 8.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #43,809 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #31 in Military Aviation History (Books)
- #69 in Military Strategy History (Books)
- #274 in World War II History (Books)

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I was born and grew up in deep southwest Georgia. For many years I have lived and worked in Atlanta. But southwest Georgia remains a big part of who and what I am.

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EnsembleMan

Good history of an interesting man and his friends

Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2024

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The Pentagon is a stupid organization more concerned with big contracts and money. People and useful weapons are in third place.

That is the main theme here.

John Boyd and his associates did great work and showed how horrible the F4, F111, and B1 were. Tens of billions of wasted dollars

Boyd was a great pilot, teacher, historian of warfare and an engineer

He worked to hard and that was not good for his family

But he saved lives in Desert Storm and made great fighter pilots who flew less agile planes than the Russians provided our opponents

A bit long but worth a read

One person found this helpful

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Luis Quinonez

A must read

Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2024

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Excellent book and should be mandatory reading at the pentagon, Congress and all the academies. It describes the roots of military waste and bad investments m. It makes readers wonder how we have survived and won the wars.

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Jim Stout

Effective combination of analysis and synthesis

Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2022

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Fine distillation of concepts, terminology, and sources!
Subjective diction and emotive argumentation undercuts author goals at times. Why no deep discussion of Deming's system or of Kuhn's structure of revolutionary creativity?
Overall highly readable, life-changing perspective on the man and the movement. Bought copies for people who need this book to focus on how bureaucracies work and how improvement can be made!

One person found this helpful

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Dianne Roberts

A Good Bio That Can't Help But Be Extremely Insightful

Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2006

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This is a pretty good biography, about an extraordinary man and his contributions. Just by telling the story of Boyd's life and what he did he necessarily conveys many of Boyd's ideas, and shows the path of how they were developed. The book, in and of itself, is a good read: interesting, fun, and you want to keep on reading to see what happens next, or to hear the details of a "future" event that has been alluded to already in the text. The writing is fluid and easy to read. The one drawback is that at times it seems to overly idolize people and places and concepts that were prominent in Boyd's life, or to overly trash the F-15 (which has a 100+ to 0 combat record by the way . . . ) the M1 Abrams, the Bradley IFV, etc. That is, it doesn't come off as terribly objective or fair at times.

But this book is also extremely helpful and filled with excellent insights because that was the nature of Boyd's work. Some of the good things anyone can take away from this book include:

- Boyd's theory of learning -be especially sure to read the Appendix- and the explanation of how it came about

- Boyd's to be or to do philosophy in life, and the example of his integrity and honesty and desire to do something useful in life

- The ability of a guy with an IQ of 90 to become an major innovator through sheer hard work, introspection, continuous striving for learning and improvement, drive, focus on real accomplishment, not worrying about artificial restrictions or bending the rules, use of creativity, etc.

- The insidious nature of bureaucracy and how it becomes a self-serving and self-perpetuating organization that loses connection to its original and stated purpose

Aerospace, defense, and military personnel will also be particularly interested in things such as:

- How Maneuver Warfare came about and some minimal explanation of what it is

- The design histories and successes / failures of the F-111, F-15, F-16, B-1 and A-10

- The politics and workings of the military industrial complex and the Pentagon

- Comparison between the F-86 and MiG-15 in combat over Korea and why the F-86 emerged with a 10-to-1 kill ratio

- How Energy-Maneuverability theory came about and influenced fighter tactics and aircraft design

- A brief introduction to the OODA loop as a guiding tool for conflict

- The hierarchy between people, ideas, and technology in fighting wars

This book is highly recommended, and especially so to all aerospace / defense industry / military people

10 people found this helpful

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NBEngineering

Every military test officer should read this.

Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2019

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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

101 people found this helpful

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T. M. Vazquez

Conocimiento poco usual y valioso.

Reviewed in Mexico on May 14, 2020

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Maravilloso libro, es un tema y autor poco investigados y tiene una utilidad muy alta. Lo recomiendo para quienes quieran mejorar su estrategia frente a la vida, especialmente el generar cambios en burocracias.

Hay mucha ciencia, cosa que en libros similares no hay, esto no es un libro de autoayuda.

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A Evolução do Pensamento Militar

Reviewed in Brazil on May 10, 2019

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A obra apresenta a vida do Coronel Boyd e como ele influenciou tanto as táticas de combate, os projetos das modernas aeronaves da USAF, nos anos 70 e 80, e como ele revolucionou o pensamento militar, com a fusão de várias teorias militares em seus brifins e papers, culminando com a teoria do ciclo OODA.

One person found this helpful

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Zerberus

Für Flugzeugbegeisterte!

Reviewed in Germany on June 23, 2020

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Nicht für mich, aber als Geschenk für einen Freund der eine Ausbildung bei der Bundeswehr als Pilot macht.

Er war komplett begeistert von dem Buch, also eine klare Empfehlung von meiner Seite.

One person found this helpful

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Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War

Reviewed in Italy on June 8, 2018

Verified Purchase

Libro molto interessante, che apre uno spaccato insolito sugli scenari politici e tecnici del Pentagono, di chi ci lavoroa e dei decisori politici americani del tempo.

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ReadingWritings

Excellently Awesome and Unputdownable

Reviewed in India on May 28, 2018

Verified Purchase

Sometimes one single book has the power to get you thinking for a long time. I picked up this book for the sheer personal interest I have in the subject it dealt with. Be it the term Fighter Pilot or Art of War, both are topics close to my heart. So it was but natural that I put aside all other books and read this one on top priority.

The book deals with the professional and personal life of John Boyd, a man who is revered by the Military fraternity around the world. It gives a peek into the life of a military strategist whose profound thoughts were way ahead of the times and era he lived in.

Robert Coram, as a biographist, has brought out the facts as accurately as he could. In fact, this is one biography that is gripping from beginning till the end. His language is simple. The military jargons used have been explained in a manner that can be comprehended even by people from the civvy street. As a military history enthusiast, this book definitely intrigued me since the very first page. The narration is fast paced and has a smooth flow. Loved the imageries that this story helped me conjure in my mind. I sincerely wish this story gets a motion picture dedicated to it. Even then I doubt whether it can do justice to the larger than life persona that Boyd was.

Reading the book reminded me of the similarities between Boyd and Nicholas Tesla. Both were recognised for their constributions to their respective field posthumously. What makes the narrative more appealing is the realistic depiction of a Fighter Pilot who is also a military strategist. An aviator who placed service before self, who compromised his family requirements in the larger interest of his country.

Boyd belonged to an era that was not very kind to visionaries. However, in today's parlance, his briefing and OODA loop concept have immense importance. In fact, Boyd's theory has significance in every field, be it education or administration. Well that, is a topic for another day.

To sum up, this book is a must read not only for military strategy enthusiasts but also for every individual who wants to have a different perspective to life. It is an inspirational read for every person who wants to be a Boyd in a world of mediocrity and mediocre thinking. It is simply unputdownable. An excellently awesome book.

P.S - Thank you Robert for leading me on an inward journey of self discovery, for helping me search the Boyd within me. Loved every word in it. This review is my honest opinion after reading the book.

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