Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years of Lockheed

Despite all that Janos and Rich include in this story of the Skunk Works one can’t help but wonder what was left out due to security reasons. Their story will make the reader stop and wonder where this country would be if it weren’t for people like those who worked so diligently at the Skunk Works. Were it not for the engineers, people on the line and test pilots the R and D that went on to develop the aircraft that causes our chests to swell might never have been designed. I could rehash Rich’s story, but trust me when I say half the fun is discovering how the entire crew at Skunk Works was able to do what they did despite the government and the squabbles between the the armed forces. Giving only a hint of what’s in store for the reader I will say only: P 38, U2, Black Bird and Stealth. All appeared much earlier than you might think.

This book is one of the best books I have ever read on aviation history. You learn so much and holds your attention. I highly recommend this book to read. You will not be disappointed.

This book provides interesting details on several spy planes built by Lockheed from 60-s to mid-90s. IT talks about the organization that built the planes (Skunk Works division of Lockheed), and the challenges that it faced in doing so. Enormous amounts of money the US government spent on developing those planes will open your eyes - the amounts are mentioned in the book, and are simply extraordinary.Because the book is written by a retired director of this organization, it is not impartial - it has a lot of statements where the author takes all the credit himself and blames others when things fail, and many statements glorifying many aspects of the organization as a whole. He also took many pages to give his two cents on every subject where he felt like his onion was not heard enough - along with describing why "actually" some of the contracts have been lost, some failures happened, etc.I knew little about spy airplanes, and learned a lot from this book.

Excellent book on the history of Lockheed's Skunk Works, written by its second chief in its history. It tells all about development of the U-2, SR-71 & F-117 airplanes.The author even managed to describe in detail, the management and financial organization of the Skunk Works, without making it boring. Honestly, any commercial competitor, or even adversary or friendly governments, would be wise to read this and use it as a template for how to set up and run their own successful Skunk Works.The author died decades ago, but he was remarkably prescient in his guesses as to how the next wars would be fought.This book is a keeper. I'm getting a print copy.

Outstanding history of the Skunk Works and why they have been so successful.If only our government would need Rich's last chapters.Excellent historical read.

One of the most interesting and fascinating looks at intense engineering projects in aviation and how the machine works. Filled with intrigue and mind blowing stories of technical acumen. Y these secret teams

If you work in the defense industry or have a fascination of military aviation, then this book is for you! The authors did a flawless job of making the book easy to read while detailing history they were part of. The book is a great account of Skunk Works' technology development and how they pulled of the amazing work that they did. One question that a reader can use as a self-assessment is, am I a Skunk Works style worker or a worker at the main plant? I personally finished the book with a greater urge to be better than my current self and aspire to be someone that Kelly Johnson and Ben Rich would be proud of. Individual take-aways will vary, but I definitely recommend reading this book! I'll bet that you will not be disappointed that you did.

I've long been a fan of the Lockheed Skunk Works, but really had no knowledge other than what they had produced in my lifetime. Talk about eye opening! Wow!Simply put, a great book, written so well that it reads like fiction (you know what I mean). I couldn't put it down!

Really nice insight into Skunk Works and the secretive nature of it.

Excelente livro.

Este libro contiene las mejores enseñanzas de ingeniería que se puedan recibir de un experimentado profesional. Altamente recomendado. Enseña las vivencias y el ingenio que debe aplicar cualquier profesional técnico a sus problemas. Magnífico!.

Super Buch

Very interesting from cover to cover.