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Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years of Lockheed Audiobook
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Publisher Description
This classic history of America's high-stakes quest to dominate the skies is "a gripping technothriller in which the technology is real" (New York Times Book Review).
From the development of the U-2 to the Stealth fighter, Skunk Works is the true story of America's most secret and successful aerospace operation. As recounted by Ben Rich, the operation's brilliant boss for nearly two decades, the chronicle of Lockheed's legendary Skunk Works is a drama of cold war confrontations and Gulf War air combat, of extraordinary feats of engineering and human achievement against fantastic odds.
Here are up-close portraits of the maverick band of scientists and engineers who made the Skunk Works so renowned. Filled with telling personal anecdotes and high adventure, with narratives from the CIA and from Air Force pilots who flew the many classified, risky missions, this book is a riveting portrait of the most spectacular aviation triumphs of the twentieth century.
"Thoroughly engrossing." --Los Angeles Times Book Review
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"If you really want an accurate glimpse into what's going on at Area 51, this book is a must-have. Besides revealing fascinating details on the development of some of America's most incredible top-secret aircraft, it's also a great character study of the people behind these jaw-dropping innovations. Supersonic, stealth, high altitude spying, drones and many other dramatic technologies are revealed with stunning insights here. Kelly Johnson is revealed to be a brilliant aviation innovator with a very complicated personality. Ben Rich is a savvy engineering genius with some real management skills. The Skunk Works is very much revealed to be a "Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory" of ingenious aviation design bordering on science fiction made possible by a remarkable team of gifted, experienced and very eccentric engineers and specialists. Just like Wonka, however, there are trade-offs and downsides to this secret workshop of cranky geniuses working hand-in-hand with a bureaucratic military and neurotic American political culture, not to mention the huge risks and high costs inherent with cutting-edge and bleeding-edge aerospace research. It's a great read and a great audiobook."
— David B (5 out of 5 stars)
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“Dynamite—the true story of one of America’s crown jewels!”
— Tom Clancy, #1 New York Times bestselling author -
“Thoroughly engrossing.”
— Los Angeles Times Book Review -
“After four decades steeped in secrecy, the fascinating accomplishments and inner workings of the legendary ‘Skunk Works’ finally have been revealed.”
— Seattle Times -
“Entertaining…This is a significant book for those interested in aerospace research and development.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“A top-flight aerospace engineer’s engrossing reminiscences of an eventful career in the service of the CIA and US military at the height of the Cold War…An insider’s accessible, informative take on what’s needed to get futuristic hardware to contemporary flight lines and launching pads.”
— Kirkus Reviews
Awards
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A #1 Amazon.com bestseller in Operation Desert Storm Military History
Skunk Works Listener Reviews
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VERY DISAPPOINTED, 9/16/2023
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Findlay Osborn, 1/11/2023
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John Atwood, 12/30/2021
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MJ Preza, 1/25/2020
About the Authors
Ben R. Rich (1925–1995) headed the Skunk Works from 1975 until he retired in 1991.
Arthur Morey has won three AudioFile Magazine “Best Of” Awards, and his work has garnered numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards and placed him as a finalist for two Audie Awards. He has acted in a number of productions, both off Broadway in New York and off Loop in Chicago. He graduated from Harvard and did graduate work at the University of Chicago. He has won awards for his fiction and drama, worked as an editor with several book publishers, and taught literature and writing at Northwestern University. His plays and songs have been produced in New York, Chicago, and Milan, where he has also performed.
About Pete Larkin
Pete Larkin has narrated dozens of audiobook titles, won five Earphones Awards, and been a finalist in 2012 for the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. He has been praised for his expert ability to speak in multiple accents. He is also an on-camera host and accomplished voice-over artist for hundreds of commercials and promos for a variety of companies, corporations, and governmental agencies. He was the public address announcer for the New York Mets and has worked as a radio jockey in New York, Baltimore, and Washington, DC.