Skunk Works: My Memoir of My Time at Lockheed Martin

Amazon Shopper: "Skunk Works" is not just a chronicle of the history of advanced aircraft development but a masterclass in innovation, leadership, and adaptability. The book delves deep into the behind-the-scenes operations of the secret Lockheed division responsible for producing some of the most groundbreaking aircraft in history, like the U-2 and the SR-71 Blackbird. What makes it a standout business book is its emphasis on the importance of a lean management structure, the need for a culture that encourages risk-taking, and the value of empowering talented individuals. By showcasing how Skunk Works managed to stay ahead of the curve despite bureaucratic and budgetary challenges, the book offers invaluable lessons for businesses aiming to remain relevant in an ever-evolving market. It's a testament to the idea that with the right culture and leadership, innovation can thrive even in the most challenging environments.

United States on Oct 20, 2023

Alberto Villa: Nothing else to add apart of the title of this review

Spain on Aug 29, 2023

Jukka Liimatta: The amount of interview and research done for this book is massive, and the information is well presented and organised. I read through this at full speed, didn't disappoint.

United States on Aug 08, 2023

Ubaldo Alvarez: Incredible insight into some of Lockheed's great minds of the early Skunkworks days.

United States on Jul 31, 2023

Andrea Quintavalle: Eccezionale, si scoprono cose che per un appassionato di aeronautica sono incredibili. Scorre bene anche se in inglese. Da comprare.

Italy on Jul 17, 2023

MIT_girl: 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.

United States on Jun 16, 2023

Andrea Gatti: Ben Rich was a great storyteller, his first hand account is an amazing view inside the Skunk Works activities. Not all can be written but this book is enough to understand the vision of a different industrial organisation and a way of teamwork that is an unicum. It describes also the feeling of the Cold War and the challenges in creating some of the most incredible solutions in aerospace engineering.

Italy on Apr 21, 2023

Muttley: I seldom write reviews, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book... While it covers the production years of the F117 and Blackbird the book is just that - it's about the staff and production of those aircraft rather than the aircraft themselves per se.
The book is also littered with other viewpoints other than the author's.
At the end of it, you appreciate that these highly specialised aircraft probably wouldn't have been created outside of the Skunk Works environment.
You also realise some of the US military procurement strategies are truly staggering in their arrogance and stupidity - something only someone on the inside could appreciate and document.
Overall a really interesting memoir about a golden era of ground-breaking aircraft production by someone rightly proud of their achievements.

United Kingdom on Mar 18, 2023

Flaminio: Libro "must" per tutti gli appassionati di aviazione e degli incredibili aerei segreti prodotti dai mitici "Skunk Works", dove il genio di Kelly Johnson prima e le capacità tecnico-manageriali di Ben Rich poi hanno prodotto aerei leggendari quali l'U2, il SR71 Blackbird e il F117.
Consiglio vivamente la lettura, il libro narra la storia - rivelata da relativamente poco tempo - degli incredibili aerei realizzati (il Blackbird è stato concepito nel 1960 per volare a oltre 3.000km/h, la cosa mi dà sempre alla testa!), dei problemi tecnici affrontati e risolti, dei rapporti con l'establishment militare e industriale USA, e i vari voli segreti, ben in profondità di Russia, Cina, Nord Korea e altri.
Nel capitolo finale l'autore fà poi un'analisi rivelatrice della peculiarità dell'iniziativa "Skunk Works", un'organizzazione di menti geniali che ha dato frutti incredibili, spingendo sempre al limite le possibilità tecniche del momento, grazie anche (ma direi soprattutto) all'autorevolezza e alla notevole indipendenza di pensiero che negli anni aveva saputo ritagliarsi.
Consigliatissimo

Italy on Aug 09, 2022

maelje: This is a phenomenal book, and I want to stress that the few criticisms I'm going to offer should not dissuade people from picking this up and reading it. With help from co-writer Leo Janos, Ben Rich has written a fascinating account of one of the most secretive and successful "black projects" outfits in American military history.

Lockheed's "Skunk Works" was responsible for developing the P-38, but its real fame began to build as it concentrated on spy planes during the Cold War, specifically the U2 and the SR-71 Blackbird. Rich's account of the conception, construction and deployment of these two iconic aircraft is absolutely ... well, pun intended here ... RIVETING. The narrative is exciting; how could it not be? Here you had a secretive division of a major aeronautical contractor working on planes that would change the course of world history, and this division was facing deadlines, problems with materials, difficulties in coming up with new construction methods, and on and on. The Blackbird's use of titanium alone proved a major engineering hurdle, given how difficult that metal is to work with, but Skunk Works pulled it off...and the Blackbird remains the FASTEST...

United States on Aug 12, 2012