Rating: 
Summary: Interesting read on little-known influencer of art of war
Review: I first heard of Boyd the fighter pilot when I operated out of Boyd Hall at Nellis AFB and saw the blurb about him in the entryway. When the book came out, I was eager to find out more, especially since I have flown F-16s for many years, and was interested in more of its background, since the book promised revealing Boyd's influence in the development of the modern fighter.I did find the book interesting, but I think not in the way the author intended. As a fighter pilot, Boyd seems to have been exceptional, but that aspect was only worth a few chapters (which is about how much it took). I thought the author spent entirely too much time on Boyd's childhood, trying to lay the groundwork for explaining his eccentric behavior. As a person, I found Boyd anything but admirable. He was a lousy officer, a lousy husband, and a lousy father (based on the facts laid out in the book). And by the author's own accounts, Boyd was somewhat less than fully truthful in some of his recounts of past exploits. One thing I got from the book was that if Boyd had been able to improve his interpersonal relationship skills even a little, he could have had a much greater, positive affect on all the things he is known to have influenced and probably many he is not known for. But I strongly agree with what Boyd said about "doing something" or "being someone" (careerists) in the Air Force (trust me, after 18 years I understand - I chose to do and consequently got burned). This brings me to the three things I thought made the book a worthwhile read. I loved the nitty gritty that surrounded Boyd as the fighter pilot. I thought it interesting to compare the then and now, to read about some of the first jet fighters from a fighter pilot's perspective. But what I found even more interesting was the story surrounding Boyd's lengthy time at the pentagon and the influences and swirling controversy Boyd affected on the developments of the fighters of my era, the F-111, F15, A-10 and F-16. The third was Boyd's direct influence on the change in much of the doctrinal thinking across the services in his later years. So, as a vehicle to bring the reader through these interesting eras, Boyd was worthy of a book. I only wish the author hadn't spent so much effort trying to make Boyd out as a super-human who just wasn't understood, instead of what he was, an eccentric fighter pilot with some great ideas and the convictions to see them through.
Rating: 
Summary: He's Right
Review: I have just, a few minutes ago, finished a book called "BOYD: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War", by Robert Coram.
It is truly one of the most amazing books I've ever read. And it applies to everything I am working on in my business now. It is about fighting a war by thinking way, way outside the dots. Though I related to this book because I, like Col. Boyd, am an Air Force guy, it was the Marines who best adapted his philosophy of war. It was because Marines are by their nature purely tactical, yet highly disciplined and adaptive.
Having worked in the Pentagon, having seen the way the military worked (or didn't), having been at the top of big business and seen the very beginnings of fantastic small business success - this book is amazing and applies to them all. You feel from reading it that you're now in on some secret.
He was truly a hero, one who made so any generals mad that he and virtually everyone who ever believed in him were punished severely, their careers ruined, their lives changed for the worse, their beliefs labeled heretical. And yet in the end, they turned out to be right not, in the Pentagon or most of big business, that matters. When the soldiers die because of useless equipment it is never the fault of those in power at the time, but of those years before.
Anyway, if Lean Manufacturing is compared to his theories and Tom Peters gives him credit for his original "Thriving on Chaos" radical management theory book, there's something to this guy, something we all could apply right now, this day, this minute to flanking the enemy and to thinking, once and for all, about absolutely nothing else day and night.
This was one of those books where, when I turned the page and realized the end was coming, I simply could not breath.
Rating:
Summary: Best book on the Pentagon
Review: I have read countless Congressional hearings and books on the American military and Pentagon, but Robert Coram's BOYD is the most informative and insightful I have seen. Boyd was a great maverick and eccentric, and Coram treats his objectively but appreciatively. But his experiences within the military system were astonishing and Coram captures all the nuances of Boyd's story. From other sources I am certain he is accurate as well. This is an exceedingly valuable, well-written book.
Rating:
Summary: amazing book
Review: im only 14, dont get straight a's, and I dont no much about aviation. this book was amazing. no other word. i understood 95% of the math. if u have any interesest in aviation you should read this book. i promise you it will be one of your favorite books.
Rating:
Summary: From a fighter pilots point of view
Review: John Boyd has become my hero thanks to Robert Coram. I was a contemporary of Boyd but I only vaguely knew his name because as the book illuminates,he labored in obscurity. He took his message to only those who could make a difference. Like Boyd I flew the F-100 (three thousand hours) but did not take it to the edge of the envelope as he did. Quite frankly I hated the plane because it did not have nearly enough thrust for it's weight therefore once you dumped the energy with a snap roll you could not regain it quickly enough and you were dead meat wallowing on the edge of a stall. Thanks to Boyd, the F-16 could regain the energy almost immediately due to it's high thrust to weight ratio. This allows the pilot to turn very tight, dump energy to avoid a missile or an attacker and then regain energy and reverse the turn onto the enemy. I marvel at the tenacity and brilliance with which he fought the beaurocrats and the Generals (I got a taste of that interaction during a short tour in the puzzle palace known as the Pentagon)and I have witnessed the havoc forced upon the Air Force by SAC Generals (Good examples are the F-105 and the F-111). The fact that he created the F-16 should make him immortal but then when you add his work on maneuver warfare and the decision cycle known as the OODA loop, these factors mark him as the rarest of warfare theorists. In my opinion it is his initial work as a fighter pilot that allowed him to create his masterful theories because a fighter pilot must master the four steps of the OODA loop or survival in aerial combat is impossible. Most of us never knew the four steps(they were automatic) but John Boyd analysed the process and put it into words. The instant a fighter pilot sights an enemy aircraft the process starts and does not end until one or the other is defeated. In aerial combat the four steps are cycled over and over until one achieves victory---the alternative is unthinkable. I am very sorry I did not personally know Boyd but Robert Coram brings him to life for us all to enjoy---read this important work---you will thank the author as I do. Every fighter pilot and this country owes John Boyd a debt beyond comprehension. The US military has been converted from mediocrity into the finest force the world has every seen and I am proud to have worn the uniform. I am even more proud to have observed this transformation during retirement and to now know that I can thank mostly one man for that transformation---John Boyd---it is a tragedy that he died before receiving any recognition. PS: His philosophical work at the end of the book called "Destruction and Creation" is his attempt to understand how his mind could create the theory of energy maneuverability when other more brilliant minds had not. You will want to dissect this work(if you can)---the attempt will make you a better person.
Rating: 
Summary: A Serious Distortion of Military and Aviation History
Review: John Boyd was undoubtedly a fine fighter pilot, but to claim, as this author does--and on the flimsiest possible information--that he "transformed war" borders on the absurd. Far from being a good role model, Boyd was an individual who pitted people against one another to achieve his own ends, who was so convinced of his own opinions that he was intolerant of others, and who, ultimately, nearly destroyed his own family as well as his career. This book is a pathetic attempt by the discredited losers of the so-called "Defense Reform" community to attempt to assert their place in history. There are far more reliable works than this that talk about Air Force transformation, for example Benjamin Lambeth's The Transformation of American Air Power. Save your money and buy it instead of this drivel.
Rating:
Summary: Boyd's Theories Still Relevant
Review: Mr. Coram's book deserves a look for several reasons. The first is that it is well written and researched. Unlike a number of policy-oriented biographies, this one does not require massive amounts of caffeine to read. The pages turn almost of their own will, as Coram tells the story of Boyd's exploits in combat and the halls of Pentagon. The second reason to select Mr. Coram's book is Colonel Boyd himself. Few thinkers have influenced American military strategy -- indeed decisional science for all disciplines -- as Colonel Boyd has. "OODA" remains the theory for which he is best known, though it was not his biggest theory in lifetime. OODA stands for "observe, orient, decide, act". Colonel Boyd originally developed this theory for describing how fighter pilots' minds work in the heat of combat, and why American fighter pilots seemed to beat their adversaries (their planes were more maneuverable and they had more training, among other reasons). However, Colonel Boyd's theory grew to encompass much more than than single-pilot combat. It has become a general framework for looking at decisionmaking in any competitive environment -- from combat to corporate America. The competitor who has the shortest OODA loop -- who can act the fastest -- wins. This theory was quite revolutionary for its time, because it threatened the entire bureaucratic system of the U.S. military and its relevance to warfighting. The third reason for reading this book is its relevance to our current war on terrorism. As a small terrorist network, Al Qaeda has a small OODA loop in comparison to the White House and Pentagon. It is able to exploit vulnerabilties faster than the U.S. bureaucracy can react to them. Al Qaeda can even develop capabilities faster than the Pentagon can identify them and develop counter-measures. The net result is a war of OODA loops, where America remains vulnerable because its adversaries can adapt/innovate faster than we can. If Boyd were alive today, he would point this out to the leaders in the Pentagon as the single largest American vulnerability. This is perhaps the most compelling reason to read this book. Colonel Boyd's theories provide a useful framework for understanding the relationship between organizations and action, and illuminate precisely why American defense organizations have been unable to act decisively against terrorism.
Rating:
Summary: Why don't we know of Boyd?
Review: Once I started this book, I could barely put it down - Who was John Boyd, and why didn't I know of him? As a former US Air Force fighter pilot with a degree in Aero Ed, I'm familiar with energy-maneuverability diagrams, but never learned who created them. Today, as I watch the news of the war in Iraq, I'm amazed at the skill, speed and tactics of the US Military, John Boyd was the man responsible for our sucess. Finally, the OODA Loop will quantify my consulting business - getting into my competitions decision time!
Rating:
Summary: Very Readable But Could Be Better
Review: Overall I highly recommend the book but with the caveat that further reading is needed to gain a more balanced understanding of Boyd's immense contribution to our nation.
Rating: 
Summary: Book on a questionable hero.
Review: Received the book as a gift with high expectations. John Boyd was unique within the Air Force for good reason. One has to credit his intellect with his E-M theory and OODA Loop. However, this does not qualify him for hero worship.
His basic belief system seems to hinge on himself (either agree or you don't exist). He strives to achieve rank, and then, when not reaching his goal, declares that those above him have sold out. (Flipping off the USAFA Superintendant does not win support.) Discipline still counts in warfighting. Fighter pilots are extremely disciplined warriors.
There is a huge difference in "simulated" and real combat. As an ex-USAF pilot, I let my hands do my talking. This is not "Maverick" from the movies, but Boyd fits the sterotype and it plays well in print.
I'm left with John Boyd as an imperfect intellect. One who's ego destroyed his message and personal life. A man not to deify but to pity.
|
