Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of WarThe acclaimed author of Brute recounts the life of the veteran U.S. Air Force pilot and innovative military strategist in this biography. John Boyd was arguably the greatest fighter pilot in American history. From the proving ground of the Korean War, he went on to win renown as the instructor who defeated—in less than forty seconds—every pilot who challenged him. But what made Boyd a man for the ages was what happened after he left the cockpit. A fighter on the ground as well as in the air, Boyd was relentless, brilliant, stubborn, and virtually always right. He managed to transform almost single-handedly the way military aircraft, particularly the F-15 and F-16, were designed. He then dedicated many lonely years to a radical theory of conflict that at the time was mostly ignored but now informs military activity around the globe and is acclaimed as the most influential thinking about conflict since Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. Praise for Boyd “Boyd could not be more welcome. . . . It should be required reading for every American citizen.” —Washington Post Book World “This engrossing biography should definitely be on the bedside table of all our current military leadership.” —Andrew Cockburn, Los Angeles Times Book Review “A stunning biography . . . Coram traces how Boyd’s ideas percolated into key centers of civilian and military decision making and led to a swift and decisive victory in Operation Desert Storm, and how his maneuverist doctrine foretold the type of terrorist tactics used on September 11.” —Martin Edwin Andersen, Insight |
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LibraryThing Review
User Review - hereandthere - LibraryThingA fighter pilot is an assassin, we are are reminded by Robert Coram, and Colonel John Richard Boyd (January 23, 1927 – March 9, 1997) was one of the best. He was a full-of-himself, obscene, tough ... Read full review
LibraryThing Review
User Review - Harlan879 - LibraryThingThis is an extraordinarily researched and well-written biography of how amazing intellect and dedication can overcome massive personal and personality flaws to yield real change in the world. Nobody ... Read full review
Contents
The Fighter Mafia Does the Lords Work | |
A ShortLegged Bird | |
Spook Base | |
Take a Look at the | |
This Briefing is for Information Purposes Only | |
The Buttonhook Turn | |
SCHOLAR | |
Destruction and Creation | |
Ive Never Designed a Fighter Plane Before | |
BiggerHigherFasterFarther | |
Saving the F15 | |
Ride of the Valkyries | |
OODA Loop | |
Reform | |
Boyd Joins the Marines | |
WaterWalker | |
The Ghetto Colonel and the SecDef | |
El Cid Rides | |
Sources | |
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Common terms and phrases
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Bibliographic information
| Title | Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War |
| Author | Robert Coram |
| Publisher | Hachette+ORM, 2002 |
| ISBN | 0759527776, 9780759527775 |
| Length | 320 pages |
| Subjects | › › Biography & Autobiography / Aviation & Nautical Biography & Autobiography / Military History / Military / Strategy History / Military / United States History / United States / 20th Century |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |