Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War
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- Author：Robert Coram
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Summary
John Boyd may be the most remarkable unsung hero in all of American military history。 Some remember him as the greatest U。S。 fighter pilot ever -- the man who， in simulated air-to-air combat， defeated every challenger in less than forty seconds。 Some recall him as the father of our country's most legendary fighter aircraft -- the F-15 and F-16。 Still others think of Boyd as the most influential military theorist since Sun Tzu。 They know only half the story。
Boyd， more than any other person， saved fighter aviation from the predations of the Strategic Air Command。 His manual of fighter tactics changed the way every air force in the world flies and fights。 He discovered a physical theory that forever altered the way fighter planes were designed。 Later in life， he developed a theory of military strategy that has been adopted throughout the world and even applied to business models for maximizing efficiency。 And in one of the most startling and unknown stories of modern military history， the Air Force fighter pilot taught the U。S。 Marine Corps how to fight war on the ground。 His ideas led to America's swift and decisive victory in the Gulf War and foretold the terrorist attacks of September 11， 2001。
On a personal level， Boyd rarely met a general he couldn't offend。 He was loud， abrasive， and profane。 A man of daring， ferocious passion and intractable stubbornness， he was that most American of heroes -- a rebel who cared not for his reputation or fortune but for his country。 He was a true patriot， a man who made a career of challenging the shortsighted and self-serving Pentagon bureaucracy。 America owes Boyd and his disciples -- the six men known as the "Acolytes" -- a great debt。
Robert Coram finally brings to light the remarkable story of a man who polarized all who knew him， but who left a legacy that will influence the military -- and all of America -- for decades to come 。 。 。
Boyd， more than any other person， saved fighter aviation from the predations of the Strategic Air Command。 His manual of fighter tactics changed the way every air force in the world flies and fights。 He discovered a physical theory that forever altered the way fighter planes were designed。 Later in life， he developed a theory of military strategy that has been adopted throughout the world and even applied to business models for maximizing efficiency。 And in one of the most startling and unknown stories of modern military history， the Air Force fighter pilot taught the U。S。 Marine Corps how to fight war on the ground。 His ideas led to America's swift and decisive victory in the Gulf War and foretold the terrorist attacks of September 11， 2001。
On a personal level， Boyd rarely met a general he couldn't offend。 He was loud， abrasive， and profane。 A man of daring， ferocious passion and intractable stubbornness， he was that most American of heroes -- a rebel who cared not for his reputation or fortune but for his country。 He was a true patriot， a man who made a career of challenging the shortsighted and self-serving Pentagon bureaucracy。 America owes Boyd and his disciples -- the six men known as the "Acolytes" -- a great debt。
Robert Coram finally brings to light the remarkable story of a man who polarized all who knew him， but who left a legacy that will influence the military -- and all of America -- for decades to come 。 。 。
Reviews
Simon
，
"You can't have a normal career and do the good work。"Is it worth it？ Would you financially and emotionally impoverish your family， drive your career into a culvert， goad others into wreck their own careers just so you can be the guy to have some ideas that people like but don’t acknowledge that you came up with them？John Boyd thought it was worth it。 Or， based on this biography， he thought the job in front of him was worth it， very intensely worth it， until he didn’t want to deal with it anymor "You can't have a normal career and do the good work。"Is it worth it？ Would you financially and emotionally impoverish your family， drive your career into a culvert， goad others into wreck their own careers just so you can be the guy to have some ideas that people like but don’t acknowledge that you came up with them？John Boyd thought it was worth it。 Or， based on this biography， he thought the job in front of him was worth it， very intensely worth it， until he didn’t want to deal with it anymore。 Boyd is about a fighter-jock turned underappreciated theorist on war， at least an equal to Clausewitz with Boyd's ideas on maneuver warfare and the OODA Loop。 Yet， on a general level， I feel Boyd should be read as an example of the limitations of brilliance。 Boyd’s accolades never matched his apparent achievements。 The sacrifices he made were extremely heavy for a man who retired at colonel before making his wife and 5 children live off his pension rather than consultancy fees。 "Boyd's anger at what the Air Force did to the F-16 never abated。 I like Boyd because how it balances his brilliance with his flaws。 But I do have quibbles。 I’m not a military strategist。 Or an engineer。 Or a pilot。 However， Boyd’s record in the job he devoted his life to， while interesting， seems a little weak:F-15: Boyd ‘saved’ it but abandoned it when it went in the direction he didn’t like （arguably a better one）。F-16: Boyd ‘created’ it but abandoned it when it went in the direction he didn’t like （arguably a better one）。M2-Bradley: More to his Acolyte’s credit。US Army: Boyd unsuccessfully advised them。US Marines: Boyd somewhat more successfully advised them， leading to a glorious victory against construction workers in Grenada。Dick Cheney: Used Boyd’s advice （I think， the book is actually very muddy on that when you parse out the details） during the Gulf War to， I think， win somewhat more quickly？Most of the above aren’t necessarily the fault of the book， but I would be cautious in describing the brilliance of the Marines in exploiting Boyd's ideas on maneuver warfare in Grenada and the Gulf War。 That is thin evidence against hilariously outclassed enemies。 In support of the concept of maneuver warfare Coram writes Patton， the apparently brilliant exponent of it， would have won World War II far quicker if Eisenhower had just let him。 Coram also praises the German 1918 Western Front offensives for the ways they broke the deadlock。 Both those positions are， well， tenuous and suggests that Coram’s examples of Boyd’s ideas being applied might be overstated。 Nellis was Valhalla-in-the-desertBoyd is a bit of fun， whether its being a tiger， because To be called a tiger meant you were a pure fighter pilot and that you would not hesitate to tell a bird colonel to get fucked or how Boyd got to kick a thinly disguised Kelly Johnson out of his office for attempted bribery。 It is always good to learn about facts about other places， such as how Coram knows that Thai women are extraordinarily beautiful。Boyd is also about the “value” of hard work and being called in at 10pm to listen to your boss talk shit before getting an urgent letter out at 4am， just because。 Boyd worked hard， worked others hard: Technicians in the Pentagon graphics shop hated to see Boyd come in the door。 He made them stop whatever they were doing and take care of his needs…and worked the system to his advantage on multiple occasions。 I believe the book is praising Boyd’s work ethic throughout （subject to the damage he did to his family）， but it’s interesting to look at all those midnight hours and wonder – did it really make things better？ Boyd throughout is the outsider crusading against the system， particularly the Pentagon’s procurement methods （the Zumwalt and F-35 suggest they haven’t improved since）。 Was it worth it？ Boyd seems ambiguous about that， which I like， because sometimes the answer shouldn’t be clear。 。。。more
Ryan
，
Eh， I found this book frustrating。 It seems that he had a massive effect on the military business etc but I guess it wasn't totally proven。 The story is frustrating in the way I imagine the man was， tough to be around but ultimately correct。 This was inspiring to me from a culture change perspective although maybe not totally because it seems like he lost more than he won。 The early part of the book had way too much foreshadowing as if it was written by a 5th grader。 Eh， I found this book frustrating。 It seems that he had a massive effect on the military business etc but I guess it wasn't totally proven。 The story is frustrating in the way I imagine the man was， tough to be around but ultimately correct。 This was inspiring to me from a culture change perspective although maybe not totally because it seems like he lost more than he won。 The early part of the book had way too much foreshadowing as if it was written by a 5th grader。 。。。more
Serena Puang
，
Read for a class—clearly well researched and explains the military/dynamics in a way a layperson can understand。 This biography tells the story of a man who was so singularly dedicated to his work he let all other personal relationships including his family fall by the wayside。 Clearly brilliant but extremely difficult to get along with， the reader follows Boyd’s work and processes to the end of his life。 The author is a clear fan of Boyd’s。 The tag line through the book seems to be that the mil Read for a class—clearly well researched and explains the military/dynamics in a way a layperson can understand。 This biography tells the story of a man who was so singularly dedicated to his work he let all other personal relationships including his family fall by the wayside。 Clearly brilliant but extremely difficult to get along with， the reader follows Boyd’s work and processes to the end of his life。 The author is a clear fan of Boyd’s。 The tag line through the book seems to be that the military/Air Force/world/tactics were “never the same” due to Boyd’s contributions。 。。。more
Henrik Moller
，
In something of a guise of being a biography of an Air Force pilot named John Boyd， Boyd is a fascinating look into， specifically， Air Force organisational politics and， more generally， man vs bureaucracy。Boyd himself comes across as pretty much a complete jerk， loud， crude， and arrogant。 But he's also intensely mission-oriented， determined to make the Air Force see sense， and smart enough， experienced enough， and innovative enough not only to invent new fighter tactics but then to go on from th In something of a guise of being a biography of an Air Force pilot named John Boyd， Boyd is a fascinating look into， specifically， Air Force organisational politics and， more generally， man vs bureaucracy。Boyd himself comes across as pretty much a complete jerk， loud， crude， and arrogant。 But he's also intensely mission-oriented， determined to make the Air Force see sense， and smart enough， experienced enough， and innovative enough not only to invent new fighter tactics but then to go on from that to understanding how to design future generations of fighter aircraft most capable of making use of those tactics。 The Air Force itself， needless to say， is portrayed as a hide-bound bureaucracy， dismissive of the Sensible Way and determined that everyone adhere to the Company Way--which， in this case， means designing future generations of fighters ideal for fighting last-generation's wars。Boyd will appeal not only to military aviation enthusiasts but as well to anyone who's ever fought an organisation from the inside。 。。。more
sumo
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 So， I thought the book was， overall， a love letter to Boyd。 The only part of the book where I started to like Boyd was after he was retired from the USAF as an academic。 He was a great thinker and academic， but I would never have wanted to work for or with him in the service。 My observations， as they came:Wow， this book really hates test pilots。Really smart and driven dude， but… what a jerk - to his family， his wife， other pilots （totally safety）。 He tried making it a positive thing to “attack” So， I thought the book was， overall， a love letter to Boyd。 The only part of the book where I started to like Boyd was after he was retired from the USAF as an academic。 He was a great thinker and academic， but I would never have wanted to work for or with him in the service。 My observations， as they came:Wow， this book really hates test pilots。Really smart and driven dude， but… what a jerk - to his family， his wife， other pilots （totally safety）。 He tried making it a positive thing to “attack” a buff pilot who was on final， like- what a walking safety disaster。The service is about leader ship not about technical contribution per se， Boyd was so whiny about not getting promoted below the zone， but had never displayed leadership。This book felt more like a religion than a history。 It extols Boyd as a warfighter， but the majority of his career is as a staff officer。 Not once does he lead troops （even in garrison， certainly not combat）。Author calls his deployment to Thailand his only command job， but he was a vice commander and IG。 Ok then he did take command of the combat support group when the commander was relieved。 During his command he issued an order to shoot all dogs on the base including peoples pets while they were being walked by their owners！ He is truly the worst。 Then he ordered an officer to have an affair with a local lady who’s father was mad， just to to save face with the locals！？ Wow。Back to the Pentagon， he tells the folks who work for them that he doesn’t want to hear from them - they will be downgraded on performance reports if they talk to him （their boss！）。 Then he throws around “accusations” that others are careerists。 Accused by Boyd， who was solely focused on promotion。 “To be or to do” is a boatload of BS in this context， especially from a Colonel with a successful career who believe he is a “doer” who has sacrificed career ambitions。 “Doing” and “being” are not mutually exclusive。Another example of him being a horrible leader is when he mentors young Majors and LtCols that getting promoted to Colonel is the worst thing， and if you get promoted you can’t actually “do something。” This is coming from someone who retired as a colonel。Ok， this is where I started to like it:There’s not just one solution to a problem。 There are two or 35 ways to solve a problem。 You must have inductive thinkingPeople first， then ideas， then hardwareDiscussion of truth to power and testers saving lives in the Bradley program。 。。。more
Dan
，
This is a pretty good book about a very interesting thinker （who is， it is also worth noting， a very poor father and husband）。 The strength of Boyd’s ideas and personality shine through， and are deeply interesting and engaging。 This propels the writing and makes it a page-turning read about what could otherwise be a ponderous topic。 But in many respects， it is more of a hagiography than a biography。 The unmitigated reverence for Boyd’s work， the one-sided narrative that portrays its subject as a This is a pretty good book about a very interesting thinker （who is， it is also worth noting， a very poor father and husband）。 The strength of Boyd’s ideas and personality shine through， and are deeply interesting and engaging。 This propels the writing and makes it a page-turning read about what could otherwise be a ponderous topic。 But in many respects， it is more of a hagiography than a biography。 The unmitigated reverence for Boyd’s work， the one-sided narrative that portrays its subject as a true crusader against a horde of faceless and evil Pentagon bureaucrats， and the extent to which the author’s perspective comes through detract from the book。 The book casts Boyd’s work as the catalyst of an intellectual movement that， despite not ever reaching mass acceptance in the establishment （it is， after all， in direct conflict with the technophile approach embraced by today’s military—an approach that assures perpetually increasing Pentagon budgets）， anticipates much of the way modern war is fought。 Ultimately， it places Boyd as the most important military theorist since Sun Tzu。 While I don’t have the depth of military historical knowledge necessary to comment on that particularly bold claim， I found the book interesting， engaging， and informative。 First， it is a great portrait of particular times and places: The Air Force of the 1950s and 1960s， and The Pentagon of the 1960s and 1970s。 I also came away impressed with and convinced of Boyd’s line of thought about many of the topics he dedicated his life to: On modern conflict theory， his points about exploiting enemy weakness， moving with tempo， and trusting those around you all resonated deeply with me; I also came away with an appreciation for his work at the Pentagon， which shined a light on the absurdity of military largesse and the flawed budget incentives that lead to immense waste and poor outcomes。 。。。more
Rodrigo
，
You've heard about Boyd， even if you think you haven't。 Coram's book tries to go deeper than the persona he created。 Through a thorough job， he manages to describe the multidimensionality of Boyd and the incongruence within those dimensions。 It is through this deep view that you can appreciate a higher picture than if you only understood Boyd's version or those of the persons he "hosed" during his career。 And by the end， you understand why his life ended the way he did。 You've heard about Boyd， even if you think you haven't。 Coram's book tries to go deeper than the persona he created。 Through a thorough job， he manages to describe the multidimensionality of Boyd and the incongruence within those dimensions。 It is through this deep view that you can appreciate a higher picture than if you only understood Boyd's version or those of the persons he "hosed" during his career。 And by the end， you understand why his life ended the way he did。 。。。more
David
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Well researched book with dozens of good stories of Boyd that allow you to understand him and his theories better。 They can get a little tedious as you go on “hosed ‘em” stories happen frequently。 But I imagine they happened frequently with Boyd as well。 Perhaps that shows the friendships/brotherhood he had with others。 Acceptance of his eccentricities and run-ons for the brilliance that you saw within all that。
MATTHEW J。
，
Great book！
Rob Saunders
，
An astonishing story well-told。 Fine writing about aeronautics， the U。S。 military， weaponry， warfare， and politics in the second half of the 20th century。
K A
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Interesting Bio of Col John Boyd: loosing his father at a young age， becoming a Fighter Pilot， going back to Uni to study engineering， developing the energy manoeuvrability theory to compare every fighters performance and design new planes to beat the opposition， serving in Korea and Vietnam and finally fighting for 20 years in the Pentagon to deliver what pilots wanted such as the F16。 Known as 40 second Boyd as an instructor at the Fighter Weapon School （40secs to get any plane behind him to b Interesting Bio of Col John Boyd: loosing his father at a young age， becoming a Fighter Pilot， going back to Uni to study engineering， developing the energy manoeuvrability theory to compare every fighters performance and design new planes to beat the opposition， serving in Korea and Vietnam and finally fighting for 20 years in the Pentagon to deliver what pilots wanted such as the F16。 Known as 40 second Boyd as an instructor at the Fighter Weapon School （40secs to get any plane behind him to be in front for a shot）。 In later life he was a strong proponent of manoeuvre warfare as used in the Gulf War。 Boyd thought you could either do something （important） or be someone。 Hence he had a lifetime of fights with the military leadership。 He was 100% committed to winning for guy on the frontline， sadly he seemed to give very little to his family in terms of love， time or material provision。 。。。more
Blas Moros
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What I got out of itA great biography on a man I didn’t know anything about。 He had a deep desire to learn and search for truth but his rude， in your face manner earned him many enemies and opposition to his ideas。 Energy Maneuverability， Patterns of Conflict， OODA Loop were his main contributionsSummary“Boyd has had a bigger impact on fighter tactics， aircraft design， and theory of air force combat than any man in history but he was also court marshaled and investigated dozens of times for leak What I got out of itA great biography on a man I didn’t know anything about。 He had a deep desire to learn and search for truth but his rude， in your face manner earned him many enemies and opposition to his ideas。 Energy Maneuverability， Patterns of Conflict， OODA Loop were his main contributionsSummary“Boyd has had a bigger impact on fighter tactics， aircraft design， and theory of air force combat than any man in history but he was also court marshaled and investigated dozens of times for leaks to the public， stealing computer time to work on his theories， and more。 He was cantankerous， loud， and offensive and made a lot of enemies but it was all in the pursuit of his theories which positively impacted how the US military trained and fought。”Key TakeawaysBoyd was a rare combination of skills and talents and became known as 40 second Boyd because of his ability to beat anyone in air to air combat simulation。He was the first to codify air to air combat。 He was only a junior in the army when he changed how the Army and Navy at large trained fighter pilots。Read more at https://blas。com/boyd/ 。。。more
Ramiro Lacayo
，
Loved this book and classify it as one of the best biographies and even non-fiction books I have read。 The writing follows the history on Boyd the man， yet it manages to briskly explore the environments in which Boyd was set in （Army， Marines， Pentagon， etc。） and it provides insight and context over the ideas and concepts developed by John Boyd。 The way that it is written， is that it moves past a standard biography and it makes sure to convey John Boyd's virtues， ethic， drive and original thinki Loved this book and classify it as one of the best biographies and even non-fiction books I have read。 The writing follows the history on Boyd the man， yet it manages to briskly explore the environments in which Boyd was set in （Army， Marines， Pentagon， etc。） and it provides insight and context over the ideas and concepts developed by John Boyd。 The way that it is written， is that it moves past a standard biography and it makes sure to convey John Boyd's virtues， ethic， drive and original thinking。 At the same time， it makes sure to highlight the trade-offs of Boyd's dedication to his personal goals and drive to help the American military by mentioning the suffering and turmoil his family suffered due to constant neglect。 The main themes of this book that resounded with me are:- Virtues: The importance of DOING something over BEING someone。 Being someone means sacrificing personal goals for the sake of self promotion and reputation。 Boys always expounded the importance of DOING something that is worth a damn。 Pushing yourself to the limit and sacrificing nothing in the pursuit of accomplishing that goal。 If the goal is noble， and it will help in any way people around you， then it's worth fighting for it even if it means costing you professional advancement。 In order to do this， you need to be courageous and uncompromising in the pursuit of these goals。 - Innovator: His continued emphasis that philosophies and people's minds are NOT changed by expounding lessons on what to do or how to do things， but HOW people think。 He eschewed giving orders or telling people what to do。 He always thought to teach soldiers HOW to think about problems。 This was the essence of his briefings pertaining to war strategy。 It was so controversial at the time and to this day， that he fought decades （along with many acolytes） to instill this thinking process into the modern war strategy employed by all branches of the military。 - Drive: Something you will read throughout this book is his drive and work ethic。 His constant nature to work into late hours of the night。 His passion didn't have business hours and it wasn't limited by walls， technology and he completely ignored all matters of politeness。 He would call his friends and acolytes at any time of the night， he would ask for night long meetings， he would demand excellence from all and ridiculed any that fell short。 He was blunt， direct and uncompromising in his critiques of the work being done around him。 His research that went into his briefings or the briefings his acolytes made were so thorough that they never had any factual errors （he knew that if they did， their careers would be over given the groundbreaking material they were presenting）。 Throughout his life he was an autodidact， he read and taught himself everything that he was curious about。 The information was out there and he was masterful at synthesizing it and retaining information。 He ridiculed titles， IQ tests and the sort; he could spot an intelligent man by the nature of his curiosity and his drive to 'satisfy' it。 Just consider the amount of work it takes to analyze battles throughout history and major war strategy books released， and then put together an original， forward-thinking and most importantly effective strategy （as evidenced by there Gulf war） eventually implemented by all branches of government， and this was just one of his major achievements。 - Original Thinking: His work on creativity is truly impressive。 It's truly impressive how he delved into psychology and he distilled creativity and taught students a better way to think about problems （'Destruction and Creation'） and how to come up with creative solutions。 His thinking was shaped by this and he selflessly taught other's in how to think about problems they are facing and employ this thinking to come up with creative solutions to achieve their goal。 All this came at a cost， since he prioritized his （professional） friends and his work over all aspects of his life。 His family suffered for it， and it's sad to think about how if he would have employed a little more of a selfish approach in taking more money from the government things would have been better。 The environment that his family grew up in is not worthy of a man of this stature。 It's a stark reminder to all of us to look at the trade-offs we make in our life and like everything balance is necessary。 The book does well to cover this and recognizes the pain that the Boyd household went through for many years。 。。。more
J。
，
One of the best books I’ve ever read about the military and I’m retired from the US Army with 30 years of service。 I had the good fortune of serving in a purple suited role， that is I had the opportunity to serve with and observe all services， including the US Coast Guard and the US Marines （USMC） although to a lesser extent the Marines but enough。 Still lots of time with the Army， Navy， and the Air Force and the book captures the differences and the similarities better than anything I’ve read。 One of the best books I’ve ever read about the military and I’m retired from the US Army with 30 years of service。 I had the good fortune of serving in a purple suited role， that is I had the opportunity to serve with and observe all services， including the US Coast Guard and the US Marines （USMC） although to a lesser extent the Marines but enough。 Still lots of time with the Army， Navy， and the Air Force and the book captures the differences and the similarities better than anything I’ve read。 The book especially well illuminates the infighting within， between， and among the services for resource and even the differences among service members and the positions they hold such as between fighter pilots and bomber pilots and their positions and the prestige they hold within their services。 Probably the most surprising aspect for me in reading the book was the impact that COL Boyd was able to have across all services but especially and most surprisingly with the USMC。 There is much to learn in this book about tactics and Boyd’s distain for what he called diddle diddle up the middle battle tactics。 You can especially learn much about military procurement of their weapons systems and the infighting that goes on and sadly how wasteful and cutthroat the system seems to be。 I finished the book hoping that things have improved much since COL Boyd’s day and knowing to the extent they have he deserves all the credit。 。。。more
Chris Sheridan
，
I read Boyd because it is on a recommended reading for my job。 It is not surprising that John Boyd's ideas are on other more prominent reading lists than my source。 I felt some of the descriptions of Boyd were over done。 I felt very aware of high cigar smoking bragadocicois fighter pilot aura and could have done with a little less。 The two major take aways from this book were， to be or to do， and a cardinal heading for other works to look at。 To be or to do not only points to what we as leaders I read Boyd because it is on a recommended reading for my job。 It is not surprising that John Boyd's ideas are on other more prominent reading lists than my source。 I felt some of the descriptions of Boyd were over done。 I felt very aware of high cigar smoking bragadocicois fighter pilot aura and could have done with a little less。 The two major take aways from this book were， to be or to do， and a cardinal heading for other works to look at。 To be or to do not only points to what we as leaders should strive for but exemplifies the flaws in the US military and their budgeting which puts service members in danger。 The second point has lead me to the few published works of John Boyd that I plan to read further on。 。。。more
Eric
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An ok， rather long winded read。
Nathaniel Ballesteros
，
It was like a hundred mini-stories about John Boyd's life all wrapped into one extensive collection。 Going into this book my perspective was definitely that Top Gun was a more advanced and better version of fighter school than the Advanced Weapons School。 I'm not sure I can say that I have a better opinion of one over the other now。 I thought the beginning of the book was rather dry。 Actually much of this book was dry。 While I understand that the dry parts were integral to getting the entire pic It was like a hundred mini-stories about John Boyd's life all wrapped into one extensive collection。 Going into this book my perspective was definitely that Top Gun was a more advanced and better version of fighter school than the Advanced Weapons School。 I'm not sure I can say that I have a better opinion of one over the other now。 I thought the beginning of the book was rather dry。 Actually much of this book was dry。 While I understand that the dry parts were integral to getting the entire picture of Boyd， I still found myself getting through them because the interesting parts of the book were just that good。 The book had an overarching technical science perspective that captivated the deepest levels of my intellect。 When the author was describing the EM theory I found myself glued to the pages。 Likewise， towards the end of the book when Boyd was discovering the O-O-D-A loop and writing Destruction and Creation， I found myself deeply into it。 The biggest flaw of this book is described by the author himself。 In the first quarter of the book the author describes how some of Boyd's accomplishments and deeds are stuff of legends， such as the burning down of the training barracks。 Unfortunately the entire book must be held with that same metric。 It's hard to read this book and not think that Boyd is the single most gifted fighter tactician of the last 5o years。 Then again， the author continually states that the impact of Boyd's work is scrutinized because there is a lack of physical and written work。What is fact and what truth is stretched remains up for interpretation。 What is not up for debate is that John Boyd is a man every fighter pilot （or aspiring like myself） should know the ideas of。 He embodied the true warrior spirit。 。。。more
Kristine
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It was only interesting in the beginning because of learning about how aviation advances throughout time。 It became tiring as the narcissist aviators family struggles & his stepford wife follows along his journey as if their lives are normal。 Sorry General Mattis; I couldn't finish it。 It was only interesting in the beginning because of learning about how aviation advances throughout time。 It became tiring as the narcissist aviators family struggles & his stepford wife follows along his journey as if their lives are normal。 Sorry General Mattis; I couldn't finish it。 。。。more
Federico Von der weth
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 The fighter pilot who change te art of war， Robert Coram。John Boyd durante su vida militar fue un separado del rebaño。 En su época subalterna， como instructor de pilotos de combate en el AFWS （ símil a Top Gun） fue conocido como forty seconds Boyd… Todos eran cazados en menos de 40 segundos （un alumno de intercambio del USMC casi rompe el mito）。 En una época donde el bombardero nuclear era el core business， puso su bandera de lucha por la aviación de combate: dog fights y CAS。Boyd fue siempre un The fighter pilot who change te art of war， Robert Coram。John Boyd durante su vida militar fue un separado del rebaño。 En su época subalterna， como instructor de pilotos de combate en el AFWS （ símil a Top Gun） fue conocido como forty seconds Boyd… Todos eran cazados en menos de 40 segundos （un alumno de intercambio del USMC casi rompe el mito）。 En una época donde el bombardero nuclear era el core business， puso su bandera de lucha por la aviación de combate: dog fights y CAS。Boyd fue siempre un filósofo de la guerra en el sentido del cuestionamiento。 El desmembramiento de la teoría de energía y movimiento permitió establecer parámetros científicos en cuanto a la superioridad en el combate aéreo y al diseño de aviones más eficientes。F-15 ， F-16 ， F-18 y en parte el A10 son hijos de la mente de “Genghis Boyd”。 No todos eran sus predilectos ， pero mucho mejor a la propuesta de los contratistas。 Los destruía con ciencia y luego les cerraba， literalmente， la puerta en la cara （tuvo muchos problemas en el Pentagono）。Confrontational e intolerante a los incompetentes ， decidió el camino del to do y no del to be。 Llevando a ser tachado como una paria por varios Generales de la Fuerza Aérea。Siempre siguió estudiando y analizando los patrones del Conflicto llegando a concluir el OODA loop: mencionado por muchos， entendido por pocos。 integrar varios factores en un ciclo mental en forma más rápida y acertiva que el enemigo。 Toyota lo usa en su estrategia。 Sus aportes pueden ser escuchados en You Tube。Fue considerado por algunos como un teórico militar incluso de la talla de Sun Tzu。 Escribió muchísimo publico casi nada。 La prédica era lo suyo。 Quienes más abrazaron sus enseñanzas no fue su institución ， sino que el USMC。 Durante sus conferencias en el AWS ，actual EWS del MCU ， fue germen importante de la cultura maniobrista。 La I Guerra del Golfo fue resultado del virus Boyd ， quien logró contagiar incluso al Secretario de Denfensa Dick Cheney， quien se opuso al concepto del General Schwarzkopf （choque masivo de fuerzas）， mutando al método Kurz und vive…。 Y les fue bien。Gracias Robert Coram 。。。more
Kyle
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One of the best books I have ever read。 I hate officers as a rule and a passion project， and the Air Force， in general， is a joke （outside of TAC-P and PJ's） But Col。 Boyd is an unknown legend。 His contributions are multitude， and awe-inspiring。 Also - fuck the Pentagon， doubly so after this book。 One of the best books I have ever read。 I hate officers as a rule and a passion project， and the Air Force， in general， is a joke （outside of TAC-P and PJ's） But Col。 Boyd is an unknown legend。 His contributions are multitude， and awe-inspiring。 Also - fuck the Pentagon， doubly so after this book。 。。。more
J。C。 Hammer
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Cornerstone reading for anyone who wants to lead in the military， or manage acquisition operations。 Also a good story about a paradigm-shifting airman。
Amy Morris
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Welll， the author let you see that Boyd was clearly a jerk and a blowhard， just a brilliant one， so score one for brutal honesty。 I was fascinated。 And appalled by typical govt excess and spending， with a military mentality to get all the funding they can that is disheartening as a taxpayer。 The waste is staggering。 I cannot imagine how long this author did research for this book。 So。 Much。
Josef
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A great book at reveals the short falls and politics of large military’s。 Very insightful on how the F15 and F16 fighters were designed and where some of our major military tactical thinking comes from。 Quite sad that someone so smart was so uncaring to his family though。 A good read for anyone interested in military history。
Crt
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A lot to digest。 The in fighting in the military between the different branches isn’t particularly inspiring， An amazing character。
Matthew Phelps
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Thorough and honest account of a man who changed the way the American military approaches warfighting。 Though not without his personal and professional flaws—which Coram doesn’t shy away from presenting， Boyd spent his life doing the hard intellectual work to adapt and develop maneuver warfare to the modern battlefield。
János Keresztes
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UniqueVery interesting， unique， and insightful book。 It took me to “places” I have never heard of。 Homage to a man not know enough。
Gene Ishchuk
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I quite liked it。Yes， it is way too eloquent。 Yes， it is a glorified story with lots of watery details with places you are getting lost in （"WTF is this about？" places）。But the details on theory， testing methods， cost analysis， telemetry （that's how you call these things today） - I would say its stripped-down version could be an interesting handover for a Product Manager / Owner。 The product planning & building methods used for the development for A10 are marvelous。 I liked the story on the test I quite liked it。Yes， it is way too eloquent。 Yes， it is a glorified story with lots of watery details with places you are getting lost in （"WTF is this about？" places）。But the details on theory， testing methods， cost analysis， telemetry （that's how you call these things today） - I would say its stripped-down version could be an interesting handover for a Product Manager / Owner。 The product planning & building methods used for the development for A10 are marvelous。 I liked the story on the testing of Bradleys prior to their launch （lies， lies， lies and one more lie to make the data look good。 Basically those were metal cans sold as the panzer machine for the infantry by defense contractors。 They were soooo afraid to test them with real bullets so they were ordering the staff to fake tests， alter the construction with water instead of fuel in the tank and report fabricated findings up the chain of command）。Some lines reminded me on a couple of projects I have tried to work on as a PO， some personas on people I have worked with - some good， some asking for a serious beating。 An interesting story with lots of curious moments I just wish there was less motivational bullshit （at times it reads like a recruitment brochures for youth in the US）。p。s。 the beginning is slow-paced， I have tried it once - couldn't digest so I have made a second try 2 years later。 。。。more
Micah Treptau
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Boyd was a loud， profane， and obnoxious man who neglected his home life， violated everything there is about military customs and courtesies， and was overall kind of a dirt-bag。 At the same time， he is responsible for modern fighter combat and multiple needed reforms in the Pentagon。 I find it wild that such an objectively "bad guy" can do so much good in the world。 Boyd was a loud， profane， and obnoxious man who neglected his home life， violated everything there is about military customs and courtesies， and was overall kind of a dirt-bag。 At the same time， he is responsible for modern fighter combat and multiple needed reforms in the Pentagon。 I find it wild that such an objectively "bad guy" can do so much good in the world。 。。。more
Michael
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Insightful into the challenges of DoD bureaucracy and how large organizations can get stuck in their ways vs。 accepting better ways to accomplish the objectives。
Charlotte
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