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Rating: 
Summary: Boyd Mandatory Reading for Anyone Interested in Military
Review: Coram treatment of Colonel John Boyd's autobiography is a thorough treatment of his work, his career, his accomplishments, and his family. He was a warrior, thinker, honest, sincere, and nasty to the bone man who cared about the MISSION beyond all else. This led him to develop original ideas and fight the Pentagon establishment with such vicious abandon that it limited his career and took a toll on his disciples and family. Boyd is the common thread that connects development of Energy-Maneuver theory of fighter performance, the F-15, F-16, F-18, Operation Bolo in the Viet Nam air war, the B-1 cancellation by Carter, the testing of the Bradley fighting vehicle (famous from "Pentagon Wars"), the OODA Loop in military command, maneuver warfare/the Desert Storm ops plan, and who knows what else. How could someone influence so much and you never heard about him you ask? Its because John Boyd had the tact of an nuclear weapon, a propensity for pissing off general officers (service didn't matter), called major contractors liars (which was often true), and generally tore up the Pentagon and Wright-Patterson (the Air Force aircraft purchaser) for 20 years! For every man who admires Boyd, there are ten who hate him! The Air Force, Army, and Navy refuse to acknowledge any but his technical accomplishments; the Marine Corps lionizes him (it will make sense once you read the book). Boyd said you can "be it" or "do it", military careers rarely permit both. If you are of the latter ilk, then read "Boyd"!
Rating:
Summary: Boyd Mandatory Reading for Anyone Interested in Military
Review: Coram treatment of Colonel John Boyd's autobiography is a thorough treatment of his work, his career, his accomplishments, and his family. He was a warrior, thinker, honest, sincere, and nasty to the bone man who cared about the MISSION beyond all else. This led him to develop original ideas and fight the Pentagon establishment with such vicious abandon that it limited his career and took a toll on his disciples and family. Boyd is the common thread that connects development of Energy-Maneuver theory of fighter performance, the F-15, F-16, F-18, Operation Bolo in the Viet Nam air war, the B-1 cancellation by Carter, the testing of the Bradley fighting vehicle (famous from "Pentagon Wars"), the OODA Loop in military command, maneuver warfare/the Desert Storm ops plan, and who knows what else. How could someone influence so much and you never heard about him you ask? Its because John Boyd had the tact of an nuclear weapon, a propensity for pissing off general officers (service didn't matter), called major contractors liars (which was often true), and generally tore up the Pentagon and Wright-Patterson (the Air Force aircraft purchaser) for 20 years! For every man who admires Boyd, there are ten who hate him! The Air Force, Army, and Navy refuse to acknowledge any but his technical accomplishments; the Marine Corps lionizes him (it will make sense once you read the book). Boyd said you can "be it" or "do it", military careers rarely permit both. If you are of the latter ilk, then read "Boyd"!
Rating:
Summary: Invaluable background for current events.
Review: The value of some of the biographical details is uncertain other than to put the totality of Boyd's life in context and to emphasize the human element of someone who otherwise deserves to be ranked a seminal giant of the 21st century. The real value of this book is that it gives invaluable background and insight into current political issues. The most familiar of Boyd's prominent contemporaries and, often allies are Dick Cheneny, Donald Rumsfeld, and Colin Powell. For anyone seeking information on these actors beyond the standard mass-media fare (i.e., "used to lead Halliburton") this book is a must-read.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent - one of the best books I've read this year.
Review: This book surpassed my expectations, I have a few quibbles with it, but nothing to lower it from a fully deserved 5 stars.
John Boyd was apparently an arrogant, stubborn, and brilliant man. I'm not sure I would want to work for him or with him, and I certainly would not want to be one of his children, but America needs more like him.
Boyd struck me as a real life version of The Fountainhead's Howard Roark. I found his example to be inspirational. The explanation of his "To be or to do" speech is worth reading the entire book, and in his life he personified the message of this speech.
Strictly speaking Colonel Boyd wanted "to do" something for America and the Air Force, and chose to make sacrifices, endured much abuse, and repeatedly jeopardized his career with that goal in mind. He purposely chose "to do" something, rather than "to be" somebody, which he defined as one who gives up his integrity to get ahead in the system. This insight is one that applies not only to the military but to any organization. It is the fundamental choice that everyone has to make, and hearing of his successes against the system has encouraged me to follow his example, if only in some small measure.
Everyone in business, the government, or the military should read this book.
Rating:
Summary: A remarkable American!
Review: This is a remarkable book about a remarkable American. I normally gravitate to science fiction, but this book caught my eye. I'm glad it did. If you've read Sun Tzu and appreciate the impact he's had on warfare over the past 2,000+ years, then the amazing contributions of John Boyd to the science of warfare cannot be understated. He literally changed the world. I highly recommend this book! It should be made into a movie.
Rating:
Summary: A remarkable American!
Review: This is a remarkable book about a remarkable American. I normally gravitate to science fiction, but this book caught my eye. I'm glad it did. If you've read Sun Tzu and appreciate the impact he's had on warfare over the past 2,000+ years, then the amazing contributions of John Boyd to the science of warfare cannot be understated. He literally changed the world. I highly recommend this book! It should be made into a movie.
Rating:
Summary: Out of today's headlines
Review: This is so much more then a biography of an Air Force Fighter Pilot. It is a story of an odd but brilliant mind and his efforts to reform the military. His early efforts of creating a written description of aerial combat tactics formally past down by word of mouth and hand gestures to measuring and predicting aircraft performance should have been more than sufficient to make Boyd an Air Force legend. Instead he was considered a maverick who's logic and insight they couldn't prove wrong. Aircraft design and tactics would seem a natural forum for a fighter pilot but for Boyd's insightful mind it was just a starting point. From a broken weapons procurement system to the very mindset in which war is fought would make Boyd and his fellow reformers targets of the powerful that wished the status quo to remain regardless of the consequence. Boyd's acolytes pursuit of fair testing for equipment, equipment which could be a lethal liability in the field but pushed through by a system so the money would be spent, will leave you asking who's sons and daughters are manning this equipment. With current headlines of a crony Boeing tanker deal and the deployment of an unproven potentially Trillion-dollar Missile defense system, this story will give you insights into the still broken Pentagon of today and it is frightful.
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