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
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Popular Highlights in this book
The most amazing aspect of the OODA Loop is that the losing side rarely understands what happened.Highlighted by 680 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 680 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
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Boyd: a strategist’s strategist
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.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: Strategy Pure and Simple: Essential Moves for Winning in Competition and Cooperation andGeorge 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!”
Top reviews from other countries
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Amazon CustomerReviewed in Brazil on May 10, 2019
A Evolução do Pensamento Militar
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Amazon CustomerReviewed in Italy on June 8, 2018
Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War
- ReadingWritingsReviewed in India on May 28, 2018
Excellently Awesome and Unputdownable
