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Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed Paperback – February 1, 1996

by Ben R. Rich (Author), Leo Janos (Author)

431 customer reviews

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From the development of the U-2 to the Stealth fighter, the never-before-told story behind America's high-stakes quest to dominate the skies Skunk Works is the true story of America's most secret and successful aerospace operation. As recounted by Ben Rich, the operation's brilliant boss for nearly two decades, the chronicle of Lockheed's legendary Skunk Works is a drama of cold war confrontations and Gulf War air combat, of extraordinary feats of engineering and human achievement against fantastic odds. Here are up-close portraits of the maverick band of scientists and engineers who made the Skunk Works so renowned. Filled with telling personal anecdotes and high adventure, with narratives from the CIA and from Air Force pilots who flew the many classified, risky missions, this book is a riveting portrait of the most spectacular aviation triumphs of the twentieth century.

Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Lockheed's Advanced Development Project has set standards for the aerospace industry for half a century. Under its presiding genius, Clarence "Kelly" Johnson, the Skunk Works produced America's first jet fighter, the world's most successful spy plane (U-2), the first three-times-the-speed-of-sound surveillance aircraft and the F-117A stealth fighter. Rich was Johnson's right-hand man and succeeded him as director in 1975, retiring in 1990. In an entertaining style, the authors describe Johnson's tyrannical managerial style, his thorny but productive relationship with the Air Force and the stealth-technology breakthrough that revolutionized military aviation. Writing with freelancer Jonas, Rich also recounts Skunk Works' failures, including experiments with liquid hydrogen as a propellant and spy-drone flights over China's remote nuclear test facilities. He has much to say about the Defense Department bureaucracy and warns, "Everyone in the defense industry knows that bureaucratic regulations, controls, and paperwork are at critical mass... and... in danger of destroying the entire system." This is a significant book for those interested in aerospace research and development. Photos.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Since its inception in 1943, the Skunk Works has been one of the most top-secret military contractors. Now that the Cold War has ended, its story is uncloaked by former chief Rich, now retired. Using a small number of expert employees, the Skunk Works built technologically advanced aircraft that were disavowed by the government and its users, the Air Force and the CIA, for years after the aircraft were operational. The Skunk Works built notable planes such as the P-80 (the first operational jet fighter), U-2 (the high-altitude spy plane), and F-117A (the Stealth fighter). The story of Stealth's development is most interesting not only in the design, building, and testing but also in its origina in a Russian scientist's paper on aeronautics. There are first-person accounts of some of the missions flown by pilots and notes from many government officials. Highly recommended.
William A. McIntyre, New Hampshire Technical Coll. Lib., Nashua
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product details

Paperback: 372 pages
Publisher: Back Bay Books; 1st edition (February 1, 1996)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0316743003
ISBN-13: 978-0316743006
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1 x 8.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (431 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,960 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #13 in Books > Business & Money > Management & Leadership > Strategy & Competition
- #20 in Books > Engineering & Transportation > Engineering > Aerospace
- #24 in Books > History > Military > Strategy

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Top Customer Reviews

Practical Management Tips

ByMugizi R. Rwebangiraon April 29, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Mr. Rich gives a unique perspective on the legendary Lockheed Martin Skunkworks and it's equally legendary manager. From the narrative you get a really good feel for the culture of the place and why it was so successful. My goal in reading this book was to get practical tips for building successful teams and I think I got some ideas:
(1) Eliminate bureaucracy
(2) Prefer having a small with high average talent to a larger less talented team
(3) Make sure different functions are physically next to each and communicate incessantly
(4) Shield the team from external pressure
(5) Challenge the team with "impossible" problems that get talented people excited.

These are all things that can help a small talented team far outperform a larger team with a much bigger budget.

0Comment 6 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Behind-the-Scenes look at Incredible Technological Leaps

ByBrian Johnsonon February 21, 2017

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

A fabulous accounting of, not only the development of the F-117 Stealth fighter, but also the extensive history and details surrounding the U-2 high Altitude photo recon flyer, as well as the SR-71 Blackbird. Lots of anecdotes, as well as personal observations by actual pilots and high government officials, regarding the efficacy and impact of these revolutionary aircraft. If you have any interest in the behind-the-scenes development of bleeding-edge technology, this book is a gem. I read it when it first came out, and finally realized I could no longer locate my original copy, so, I purchased this replacement. It was everything I remembered. Contains some good black and white photos, as well as enough numbers to be impressive. (SR-71 on it's final Record-setting flight, covered the entire the continental US with a single, continuous, sonic boom).
Primarily focusing on the F-117 Stealth, it has sizable portions devoted to the U-2, and the SR-71 Mach 3 Spy Planes. Truly incredible developments in the World of Aviation.
A great read.

0Comment 3 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

If you're an engineer you'll love this.

ByDrewon April 3, 2015

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

SO. GOOD. As an engineer, I found this book to be fascinating. It's basically a narrative about several skunk works projects like the U-2 and F117 interspersed with tons of insane and interesting side stories by people involved (mostly test pilots).

Here's one example. One engineer was formulating a new fuel for the U-2 that would work in the high altitude engine. The fuel was called LF something or other, and there was a running joke that that stood for "Lighter Fluid" due to it's awful smell. Chemically it was actually more similar to one of the main ingredients in the bug spray "Flit", which was popular at the time. The year they put the (still very top-secret) U2 into service, there was an unexplained nationwide shortage of bug-spray.

0Comment 5 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Excellent read about a true story

ByBen K.on December 23, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Excellent read about a true story. As an engineer, I found this a very captivating, informative, and engaging read - but I think the information is presented in such a way that a reader from any background can appreciate and understand the story and the bulk of the info presented. This book adds a huge amount of perspective and previously unknown background info to the story of the iconic Lockheed planes from the end of the Kelly Johnson era and also from the entirety of the Ben Rich era. The book tells the story in many chapters written by the author and his co-writer, but also in other chapters from the different perspectives of people that designed and flew the planes, among others. Rich and his co-writer go into interesting in-depth details about the engineering challenges faced and the benchmarks required of some of the best and (at the time) most secretive airplane programs of the Cold War era. The book also provides a window into the personality and character of the iconic Lockheed Skunk Works figures of this time period. Also, a great deal of interesting added perspective on the military industrial complex contract-garnering process is provided by this book. This book is a very interesting historical account presented in a page-turner format. Great read for the engineering inclined, history and CIA buffs, and others as well.

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AMAZING BOOK!

ByDTOM 1775on October 9, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

This book is absolutely AMAZING!
I'm kicking myself in the teeth for not having read it when it first came out. The hard copy was given to me as a gift when it was released and I refused to break the binding on it because I knew it would be a good book, perhaps a collector even.
I had forgotten I had it when I saw it was available on kindle and immediately bought it.
This book isn't simply about the amazing work of the Skunk Works up until the declassification of the F-117, this book is about leadership, teamwork and dedication.
SIMPLY AMAZING, A MUST READ!

0CommentWas this review helpful to you?YesNo

Top secret and stealth technology. The "Skunk Works" did it all.

ByJeffery A. Whitakeron September 23, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

"Skunk Works" is the popular moniker of Lockheed Martin's top, top secret aircraft aircraft program for the US government. This book is written by the second director of this program, Ben Rich. The book's primary focus is the U-2, F-117A, and last but not least the SR-71. A ship for the Navy, and a drone program are briefly covered also. Ben Rich is credited for developing and building "stealth" into military assets. Primarily aircraft. After Francis Gary Powers was shot down piloting a U-2 over Soviet Russia, it quickly became apparent that a faster, higher flying and stealthy aircraft was needed. Hence the SR-71. It can travel in the atmosphere at a height of nearly 90,000 feet. It can cruise at well over Mach 3, and has a Radar profile of about a ball-bearing (thus "Stealthy"). This book is fascinating and gives you a first-person account of these extraordinary aircraft. The F-117 flew over the center of Baghdad, without fighter escorts; and dropped 2,000 lb. bombs during the Iraq war. The U-2 is the only one out of the three that is still flying missions. As a matter of fact, a U-2 just recently crashed in California.

0CommentWas this review helpful to you?YesNo

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Interesting history of a unique aerospace company

Great reading

Published 9 days ago by Rlombar

This book is amazing. So much insight and detail into things that ...

This book is amazing. So much insight and detail into things that were beyond top secret, my favorite work of non fiction yet!

Published 16 days ago by Strike

must read for any pilot or aspiring pilot

Bought it for my dad, he told me he liked it

Published 23 days ago by Easy E

Great for enthusiasts and power of innovation

This book came recommended from an engineer I know. Amazing story, great advice in the last chapter. Shows how good we can be when focused.Read more

Published 1 month ago by MBC

"No real details"!!!!

I know more "details" about the A-11 / SR-71 than arthor has divulged!

Published 1 month ago by Nichol Lynn

one for the library

interesting history. great reference book.

Published 1 month ago by jvg41

New OLD Books

The book "Skunk Works" arrived on schedule and LOOKS BRAND NEW! It made my husband very happy to learn more about other parts of the company he has worked for for the last...Read more

Published 1 month ago by Judy Martz

A must read for aviation enthusiasts and history buffs

Few historical accounts/biographies have captured me quite like Skunk Works - a real page turner. Ben Rich and Leo Janos gave us a glimpse into many of the most secretive and...Read more

Published 2 months ago by Wes

He loved it.

This was a gift to a friend. He loved it.

Published 2 months ago by Ames

This book was amazing!! I learned so much from this

This book was amazing!! I learned so much from this, and even felt patriotic reading it.

Published 2 months ago by Brian M.

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