Boyd, Robert Coram
Boyd, Robert Coram
3 Rating(s)
List: $16.99 | Sale: $11.89
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Boyd
The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War

Author: Robert Coram

Narrator: Patrick Lawlor

Unabridged: 19 hr 41 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 07/26/2016


Synopsis

John Boyd may be the most remarkable unsung hero in all of American military history. Some remember him as the greatest U.S. fighter pilot ever—the man who, in simulated air-to-air combat, defeated every challenger in less than forty seconds. Some recall him as the father of our country's most legendary fighter aircraft—the F-15 and F-16. Still others think of Boyd as the most influential military theorist since Sun Tzu. They know only half the story.

Boyd, more than any other person, saved fighter aviation from the predations of the Strategic Air Command. His manual of fighter tactics changed the way every air force in the world flies and fights. He discovered a physical theory that forever altered the way fighter planes were designed. Later in life, he developed a theory of military strategy that has been adopted throughout the world and even applied to business models for maximizing efficiency. On a personal level, Boyd rarely met a general he couldn't offend. He was loud, abrasive, and profane. A man of daring, ferocious passion and intractable stubbornness, he was that most American of heroes—a rebel who cared not for his reputation or fortune but for his country.

About Robert Coram

Robert Coram was twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for his work as a reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He is the author of several novels and nonfiction books, including American Patriot: The Life and Wars of Colonel Bud Day and Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War. Robert lives in Atlanta, Georgia.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Ryan on July 05, 2012

Biographies of military figures are a tricky business. The core audience for the books is so passionate that they are willing to forgive lousy books in their thirst for more information. For that reason there are a lot of mediocre war books. Because of the title and the subject, it's easy to glance......more

Goodreads review by Nooilforpacifists on January 14, 2022

One of the finest biographies I’ve read. Boyd did it all. The Air Force’s best fighter pilot between the Korean and Vietnam Wars, when he was forced to fly a desk, he started designing aircraft. He designed the initial “A” series of low-flying ground-pounders so beloved by Marines. He designed the F......more

Goodreads review by Laura on April 28, 2020

What did I miss? I feel like I read a different book than those with glowing reviews. Another case of an important piece of history battered into a hyperbolic, dry and exhausting narrative. Great man, great story, I won't dispute that. The author just comes across a little too much like an amped frat......more

Goodreads review by Otis on March 28, 2011

A very interesting book about John Boyd, who was a crack fighter pilot, and then later military strategist and reformer. Boyd flew as an instructor in the real life version of Top Gun, and beat everyone in 40 seconds or less. But later in his life he really studied military strategy, and this is whe......more

Goodreads review by Tom on June 02, 2017

Many people see themselves as reformers and idealistic and think the world will celebrate them for their reforms because they are logical and beneficial. The problem is that actual reform stops the inertia of systems that benefit the people who have a lot to lose. The better the reform the greater t......more