Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed

A fascinating look into the glory years of the Lockheed-Martin Skunk Works as written by former leader of the division, Ben Rich.

Contextual Note
My love of airplanes started at an early age as a child growing up in Houston, TX we were very poor, but my Dad would take me to Intercontinental airport just to watch the airplanes come in and take off. He had a pair of old binoculars and he taught me how to tell all the planes apart. We'd go see the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds anytime they were within driving distance. I loved all the different, beautiful planes of the American fleet. We had books full of photos and specs of all the world's aircraft. Dad and I would talk airplanes for hours, debating the virtues and vices of each of them. His favorite was the F-14 Tomcat. My favorite fighter was the F-15. But my overall favorite jet was the SR-71. That blackbird was the prettiest plane ever drafted. Most of my childhood, I grew up wanting to be a pilot or astronaut, likely due to all these discussions. /context

This book explores the inner workings of the Skunk Works unit in Lockheed Martin from the development of America's first jet fighter (the P-80) to the U-2 and the first true stealth airplane, the F-117 (along with its predecessor, the Have Blue prototype). And of course the SR-71! There's a huge focus on the founder of Skunk Works, Kelly Johnson and how he ran the shop. There are many anecdotes from pilots who flew these craft on missions and the unusual situations and the politics that were affected in this crazy time in history (1950's - 1990's). You'll also find plenty of discussion of the bidding process and competitions between aircraft companies of that age.

It is all simply fascinating. The very end also includes some insight into how the process actually prevents the citizens from getting the most out of our tax dollars and some suggestions that might help.

If you've ever sat around and had a discussion about which airplane is your favorite (ever in your life), you'll probably enjoy this one.