Skunk Works by Ben Rich

Ben Rich was the director of Lockheed's "Skunk Works" for 15 years and oversaw the developments of some of our country's most advanced tactical vehicles. This autobiography is organized by project, rather than chronologically, but the reader can see how the industry changed over the decades discussed in the book.  In addition to Rich's story, there are also chapters by other key players, such as test pilots, chief engineers, and military commanders. In many ways this is not a biography of Ben Rich, but of the Skunk Works as an institution.

I put this book on hold, not knowing what it was about.  I thought it was an action/adventure fiction like "The President is Missing".  I was pleasantly surprised to find out it is nonfiction, and I enjoyed listening to it. The way the planes and missiles were developed is fascinating to me, as is the way the Skunk Works interacted with the government and military leaders.  It wasn't until I was nearly finished with the book that I realized how old it is.  It made me wonder about what had happened to some of the projects after the time period covered in the book. (1996, 372 p.)