Skunk Works
A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed
by Ben R. Rich, Leo Janos, Ben R./Janos, Leo Rich · first published 1994
63% recommend36% neutral2% critical
Why HN recommends it
Firsthand account of Lockheed's secret projects (U-2, SR-71, F-117), with vivid detail like machining titanium. Valued for its lessons on small, empowered teams, and suits aviation fans, engineers, and managers.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
From the development of the U-2 to the Stealth fighter, the never-before-told story behind America's high-stakes quest to dominate the skies 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
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2010–2026Sled driver
Brian Shul
Recommended by 14 · mentioned by 2814 recommend · 28 mention14 recommend · 2814 recommend
2010–2024Kelly
Johnson, Clarence L.
Recommended by 5 · mentioned by 55 recommend · 5 mention5 recommend · 55 recommend
Sidewinder
Ron Westrum
Recommended by 3 · mentioned by 53 recommend · 5 mention3 recommend · 53 recommend
2016–2026Area 51
Annie Jacobsen
Recommended by 4 · mentioned by 74 recommend · 7 mention4 recommend · 74 recommend
2022–2025Founders
Jimmy Soni
Recommended by 6 · mentioned by 76 recommend · 7 mention6 recommend · 76 recommend
2012–2026Apollo
Charles A. Murray
Recommended by 8 · mentioned by 118 recommend · 11 mention8 recommend · 118 recommend
2010–2026The Great Bridge
David McCullough
Recommended by 8 · mentioned by 118 recommend · 11 mention8 recommend · 118 recommend
…what to expect. I will never forget looking around the door and there it was, gave me chills. It was the coolest thing I have ever, or will ever see. As is hackernews tradition, I will now recommend "Skunk Works" by Ben Rich, fantastic book.
on “New Video of F-117s Flying Out of Tonopah Despite Their Fates Being Sealed” ↗I'd highly recommend the book Skunk Works by Ben Rich. It's about the engineering team at Lockheed Martin that designed the Blackbird (and the U-2, and several other amazing planes), and describes many of the engineering challenges in detail.
on “Pilot explains how he Survived Blackbird Disintegration at Mach 3.2” ↗…(he used to be an SR-71 pilot). I am lucky enough that years ago, a girl who had a crush on me bought me that book. Its out of print now, and I've seen copies on eBay for > $1000. Next to Ben Rich's "Skunk Works", it is one of the best books on the SR-71 that I have ever read.
on “What Made the SR-71 Blackbird Such a Badass Plane (2015)” ↗If you enjoyed this article, I highly recommend checking out the book Skunk Works by Ben R. Rich (director of Lockheed's Skunkworks). It covers the development of this aircraft and several others through some pretty gripping accounts of engineering during the Cold War.
on “Transporting the CIA A-12 Blackbird to Area 51” ↗…Factory or Dava Sobel's Longitude. But, missing a name for this particular genre, I have a hard time finding new entries. Does HN have anything of that kind to recommend? Other books I've found so far: - Skunk Works by Ben E. Rich & Leo Janos - The Box by Marc Levinson - Apollo by Charles A Murray & Catherine Bly Cox - The Great Bridge also by David McCullough
on “Ask HN: Biographies of Companies or Things?” ↗Well, there is the book called "Skunk Works" written by Ben Rich. It's very good.
on “The SR-71 Spy Plane Was So Fast, It Outran Every Missile Fired at It” ↗If you haven't read it, Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed by Ben Rich is a pretty fun read into the U2, A-12 Oxcart, SR-71, Sea Shadow and other craft. And has a lot of good stories from pilots. But the ultimate SR-71…
on “The SR-71's predecessor used cesium-laced fuel to create radar-absorbing exhaust” ↗To anyone who is interested in this stuff I would strongly recommend the book “Skunk Works” by Ben Rich. Full of interesting history about stealth planes, and a masterclass on how to run a ragtag company.
on “The slowest SR-71 Blackbird fly-by” ↗I’d recommend reading Skunk Works by Ben R. Rich for more on the engineering of the Blackbird and other special aviation projects. I knew the Blackbird was fast, but didn’t quite realize how fast until reading this book. The SR-72 would…
on “SR-71 Blackbird Speed Check Story” ↗One of the best books I've ever read, courtesy of Hacker News. http://www.amazon.com/Skunk-Works-Personal-Memoir-Lockheed/d...
on “That Time an SR-71 Made an Emergency Landing in Norway” ↗A large part of why the original Skunk Works was so successful is because Kelly Johnson, and later Ben Rich, did not care about outward appearances. They had a job and they did it (and they made it profitable). Here's a great book on the subject.…
on “Alphabet Says It Shut Down Titan Drone Internet Project” ↗I highly recommend you guys try and grab a copy of "Skunk Works" by Ben Rich which is a fantastic story about Kelly Johnson and the Lockheed facility that built the SR-71, U2 etc. Ben worked alongside Kelly, and said that the guy had an unerring knack for designing…
on “Supersonic passenger jets might make a comeback” ↗…to the evolution of humans. It seems to be only slightly dated in some information, but really interesting to learn how the knowledge we assume is true today came to fruition over time. Before that, Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed (Ben R. Rich) Such an awesome book about not only the engineering feats achieved by Lockheed Martin during the Cold War Era, but the incredible ability to…
on “Ask HN: What books are you currently reading?” ↗If you enjoyed this video definitely check out Skunk Works by Ben Rich. He ran the experimental R&D wing that developed the U2, SR-71 and the F-117. It has really interesting information about the development and operation of all these planes. Some of which I…
on “Inside America's U-2 Spyplane [video]” ↗Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed by Ben Rich is really good
on “Lockheed’s D-21 Tagboard Supersonic Spy Drone” ↗