Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years of Lockheed

I first picked this book up and started reading it because hey, skunkworks (also, it probably helped that I was discussing the SR-71 online around then). The book not only tells of the research and development of several famous Skunk Works aircraft, but it also tells how Ben Rich's life and corporate outlook changed during his years at Skunk Works. Personally, the thing that will stick with me about this book is Rich's focus on quality control as a means of keeping the costs down. I think that all managers should read this book, especially if they are in a industry that designs and produces physical products.

Ben Rich is the main character and leads you through all his work that he is associated with in the Skunk Works projects. Ben Rich describes the difficulties and solutions developed that him, Kelly Johnson, and the rest of the Skunk Works encountered. The reader recieves a front row seat in aviation developement, the mechanics, the economic, and the political views. The reader also learns about the experiments that each airplane went through while the Skunk Works overcame the properties of physics and simple mechanics and test flights gone horribly wrong. I recommend this book to anyone who likes aviation, is interested in government spending, and mechanics.

Ben Rich tells the story of his years at Skunkworks with both historical and technical perspective that make this book an absolute pleasure to read. He narrates his experiences under Kelly Johnson's leadership, and later as Kelly's chosen successor, with great detail and grace. I particularly liked his tales about dealing with politics, economics and Kelly. Also, as an aerospace engineer, I thoroughly enjoyed the stories of technical difficulties encountered and solutions developed in designing the aircraft that have kept the U.S. at the forefront of air supremacy. His dry humor adds spice and his candor make the reader feel as if they were sitting with Ben and hearing him tell the story. Another point of interest is the added perspective of people who worked with Ben throughout the years. All in all, this absorbing and revealing book is great reading for anyone who enjoys technical, historical and military topics.