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

I liked this book about the man who gave us the F-15 and the F-16, two jets still flying strong 40 years past their inception dates. Boyd also gave us the modern formulas that are used to check out an aircraft dog fighting ability. It would be interesting to see how the F-35 stacks up on this.

This book starts with Boyd's hard scrabble life, his enlistment in the military, his eventual transfer to the officer program, flight school, and arriving in Korea a little too late to see hard combat. Then the book goes into Boyd's service during the 1950s, the golden years of the USAF fighter schools. I was a little taken aback by the constant attention given to his OERs. Also, Boyd seriously needed to attend a conference on "How to Win Friends and Influence People."

After being a hot shot pilot in the 1950s Boyd goes to college and gets and advanced degree in aviation studies. He is able to put his energy management theory into practice and quantify the theory. Every modern Jet goes through Boyd's EM theory. I was quite impressed.

Conversely, Boyd seems to be his own worst enemy. Friends come and go but enemies pile up for Boyd. He enjoys telling people off. He makes it a habit of telling off Generals. So, the F-15, F-16, F-17, and F-18 all bear his influence. Nothing else since then had any effect from Boyd. It's not that he's wrong. It's just his enemies will never admit he's right. Conversely, any nation that has to fight on a realistic budget would be foolish to Ignore Boyd's advice.

The book goes into detail on Boyd's personal life. I was not happy about the way he treated his family and five children. His job came first and his family came third. Most of Boyd's associates lost their careers and 1st wives. All it seemed burned out early in their careers.

Boyd was a prophet of the truth and had feet of clay. His career suffered under his bluntness. His family suffered because of his neglect.

BTW, I took a star off this book because there were some issues with accuracy, slamming on test pilots, and a few other issues.

Still, I liked the book. However, at the end you're left with the impression the book is a lot like Boyd himself, it's packed with information and makes no difference in the long run.

As with other guerrilla leaders, intellectual or military, Boyd inspires adoration and acrimony. That more of his accomplishments are not widely celebrated, or at least acknowledged, is particularly unfortunate. Also similar to previous guerrillas, there are myths about the man that must occasionally be sifted through if one seeks to stay in reality. Nonetheless, one would do well to study and learn from the man, his life, and his ideas. Above all, this book presents a story of a man, really several men, who were willing to work and sacrifice for the ideas they stood behind. The choice to be somebody or to do something is applicable well beyond military service members.

In the first half of the book Mr. Coram does an excellent job discussing Col Boyd's contributions to air-to-air tactics and fighter design during the Cold War. The portions of the book detailing Boyd and The Reformers efforts in the Pentagon are fascinating, but the machinations of that institution are so complex that I imagine it difficult to give the whole story, even in a volume such as Boyd. Nonetheless, Mr. Coram colorfully highlights the petty inter-service and internecine squabbles that occurred inside the great pentagonal palace. While Coram holds Boyd up high he does not gloss over all his faults. He does not dwell on the man's short comings, but they are a present undercurrent throughout the the book.

But beyond the very positive narrative are instances of poor scholarship and subpar research. When Boyd gets to Washington in 1966 the author claims that the WWII generals who led the USAF were being replaced by Air Force Academy grads. Seeing that the first class graduated in 1959 it's absurd to say they were replacing the generals just 7 years after commissioning. There is also an utter failure to mention the six weeks of heavy aerial bombing that preceded the Left Hook and 100 hour ground campaign during Desert Storm. This is not to diminish the brilliant success of the guys on the ground, but air power dealt a critical blow to Saddam's forces and shaped the outcome of the war. Finally, there was a technically puzzling statement that the B-1 had trouble clearing high terrain when fully loaded. Operations in Afghanistan have put any such claims to rest.

Admittedly, the David versus Goliath theme of the book paints the senior military leadership, and especially that of the Air Force, in a shameful light. As an Air Force officer and pilot, perhaps I should take more umbrage at Coram's apparent slandering. However, considering the AH-56 vs A-10 fight, the recent C-27J debacle, the multiple attempts to retire the A-10, and the long-standing institutional attitude toward close air support, it is impossible to dismiss his critiques as baseless or implausible. But, this book will not improve anyone's opinion of the USAF or greater military-industrial complex.

Overall, this is an excellent read and the impact of Boyd's work has clearly spread well beyond the battlefield, much like Sun Tzu. (Whether the two men are truly equals is a debate for another forum.) Without a doubt, reading about the bombastic guerrilla fighter pilot and his work/theories would be well worth anyone's time.

As background I read a lot of non-fiction, but typically shy away from biographies as I find them of limited value. After several recommendations from varied sources I decided to give this book a go and was not disappointed.

Coram goes through and dissects Boyd's career, without skimping on the negative aspects of his life and gruff approach. Many of the tactics and strategies Boyd reasearchs and applies in his life are uncovered and explained at a high enough level to give insight without interrupting flow. From there you can either jump right in and start applying his methods to your own life or look into the topics in more depth.

Since reading this book I see many parallels to Boyd's work in both business and technology. Anecdotally I find many of the lessons Coram brings to the fore contain large amounts of truth. Sometimes these truths force you to make uncomfortable moral decisions Its not often a book gives intellectual pursuit, actionable tactics and a dose of ethics all together in the one package, but this biography has achieved it. Highly recommended.

A great book!!!! A must read if you are interested in how the military industrial complex works. It tells the truth about how corrupt the procurement process is and how the Generals are in the pocket of the big defense companies. If you never understood why the DOD has constant cost overruns on its projects this book will clear it up for you. Additionally, a little known fact, John Boyd developed the battle plan for the Gulf War using his OODA Loop strategy. Norman Schwarzkopf was however, happy to take the credit after such a successful campaign.

Read the book and find out how the F-16 and A-10 were born. Fascinating.