"Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed"
by Ben R. Rich and Leo Janos.
Details, among other things, the engineering challenges faced during the development of the F-117 Nighthawk and the SR-71 Blackbird.
back
4 comments
An excellent read, no doubt. I've actually read it a couple of times. Ben Rich was a great writer.
Boy, I don't agree with that last. It's a pretty interesting book, but the writing is pedestrian and there are far too many asides and stories that detract from the main points. By way of contrast, I read it because it was recommended after I said I loved "The Soul of a New Machine" (Tracy Kidder), which really is an extremely well-written book, in the "every word counts" sense. "The Soul of a New Machine" is a book that a writer can appreciate for the writing.
you have a point. how about this. s/writer/storyteller/
It was written by Leo Janos, who also wrote Chuck Yeager's bio.
worth reading for rich's crazy jokes alone. the fact he is telling them to senior military brass in the context of negotiating his division's survival after kelly johnson's retirement makes them even funnier. my favorite - a boy comes home from school, finds his dad, and proudly declares "dad, i saved 25 cents by running alongside the bus instead of riding it!". the father shakes his head and replies sternly, "you fool, you should have run next to a taxi and saved five dollars"
Eh, for me those all weakened the book.
More aviation project books along those lines:
V-2 by walter dornberger - wartime engineering, rocket development
Gossamer odyssey - human powered aircraft, scrappy university project style engineering
Excellent book about the strength of a free market and the extreme damage government bureaucrats cause.