
Boyd
The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War
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Narrated by:
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Patrick Lawlor
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By:
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Robert Coram
About this listen
John Boyd may be the most remarkable unsung hero in all of American military history. Some remember him as the greatest US fighter pilot ever - the man who, in simulated air-to-air combat, defeated every challenger in less than 40 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.
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Story
War has always been a topic of deep intrigue. Fighting itself can be a source of great, perhaps even the greatest, joy; out of this joy and fascination an entire culture has grown - from the war paint of tribal warriors to today’s "tiger suits," from Julius Caesar's red cloak to Douglas MacArthur's pipe, from the decorative shields of ancient Greece to modern aircraft nose art, and from the invention of chess around A.D. 600 to cyber era combat simulators.
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Men like war
- By Michael Bellesiles on 03-21-11
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Sherman
- Soldier, Realist, American
- By: B.H. Liddell Hart
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 17 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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A biography of William T. Sherman by the military theorist and author of Scipio Africanus: Greater Than Napoleon.
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Perfect performance for an American icon
- By Jeff Lacy on 08-29-20
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Brute
- The Life of Victor Krulak, U.S. Marine
- By: Robert Coram
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 12 hrs
- Unabridged
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From the earliest days of his 34-year military career, Victor "Brute" Krulak displayed a remarkable facility for applying creative ways of fighting to the Marine Corps. He went on daring spy missions, was badly wounded, pioneered the use of amphibious vehicles, and masterminded the invasion of Okinawa. In Korea, he was a combat hero and invented the use of helicopters in warfare.
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Leaves a deep impression while also entertaining
- By PaulaD on 04-26-15
By: Robert Coram
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The German Aces Speak
- World War II Through the Eyes of Four of the Luftwaffe's Most Important Commanders
- By: Anne-Marie Lewis, Jon Guttman, Brigadier General Robin Olds USAF - Ret., and others
- Narrated by: P.J. Ochlan
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Few perspectives epitomize the sheer drama and sacrifice of combat more perfectly than those of the fighter pilots of World War II. As romanticized as any soldier in history, the World War II fighter pilot was viewed as larger than life: a dashing soul waging war amongst the clouds. In the 65-plus years since the Allied victory, stories of these pilots' heroics have never been in short supply. But what about their adversaries - the highly skilled German aviators who pushed the Allies to the very brink of defeat?
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Not what I hoped for
- By Michael Jacobi on 09-01-20
By: Anne-Marie Lewis, and others
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The Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club
- Naval Aviation in the Vietnam War
- By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
- Narrated by: Christopher Ragland
- Length: 17 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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The 'Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club' was the tongue-in-cheek nickname of the US Seventh Fleet that was stationed off the coast of Vietnam and this book tells the full story of the US Naval air campaign in the Vietnam War from 1965 to 1975.
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Tired drivel
- By Kevin Warren on 01-11-22
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The Paratrooper Generals
- Matthew Ridgway, Maxwell Taylor, and the American Airborne from D-Day Through Normandy
- By: Mitchell Yockelson
- Narrated by: Jonathan Cowley
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Generals during World War II usually stayed to the rear, but not Matthew Ridgway and Maxwell Taylor. During D-Day and the Normandy campaign, these commanders of the 82nd "All-American" and the 101st "Screaming Eagle" Airborne Divisions refused to remain behind the lines and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with their paratroopers in the thick of combat. Jumping into Normandy during the early hours of D-Day, Ridgway and Taylor fought on the ground for six weeks of combat that cost the airborne divisions more than 40 percent casualties.
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Evan's Review
- By Evan on 07-16-22
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Topgun
- An American Story
- By: Dan Pedersen
- Narrated by: Jim Meskimen
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Dan Pedersen takes listeners on a colorful and thrilling ride - from Miramar to Area 51 to the decks of aircraft carriers in war and peace - through a historic moment in air warfare. He helped establish a legacy that was built by him and his "Original Eight" - the best of the best - and carried on for six decades by some of America's greatest leaders. Topgun is a heartfelt and personal testimonial to patriotism, sacrifice, and American innovation and daring.
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I loved it!
- By "airplane_cfii" on 10-09-19
By: Dan Pedersen
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Flying the SR-71 Blackbird
- In the Cockpit on a Secret Operational Mission
- By: Richard H. Graham
- Narrated by: Shawn Compton
- Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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The Lockheed SR-71, unofficially known as the Blackbird, was an advanced, long-range, Mach 3 strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed by Lockheed Skunk Works. The aircraft flew so fast and high that not one was ever shot down, even by a missile. SR-71 pilot and instructor Colonel Richard Graham offers a rare cockpit perspective on how regular Air Force pilots and navigators transformed themselves into SR-71 Blackbird crews, turning their unique aviation talents to account in an unprecedented way.
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This book is basically void of content or story.
- By Amazon Customer on 06-02-22
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Vanished Hero
- The Life, War and Mysterious Disappearance of America’s WWII Strafing King
- By: Jay A. Stout
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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A hell-bent-for-leather fighter pilot, Elwyn G. Righetti remains one of the most unknown, yet compelling, colorful, and controversial commanders of World War II. Arriving late to the war, he led the England-based 55th Fighter Group against the Nazis during the closing months of the fight with a no-holds-barred aggressiveness that transformed the group from a middling organization of no reputation into a headline-grabbing team that had to make excuses to no one. Indeed, Righetti's boldness paid off as he quickly achieved ace status.
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Great Performance for a Great Story!
- By Carter L. on 11-03-17
By: Jay A. Stout
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The Village
- By: Bing West
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Few American battles have been so extended, savage, and personal. A handful of Americans volunteered to live among six thousand Vietnamese, training farmers to defend their village. Such "Combined Action Platoons" (CAPs) are not a lost footnote about how the war could have been fought; only the villagers remain to bear witness. This is the story of 15 resolute young Americans matched against two hundred Viet Cong; how a CAP lived, fought, and died; and why the villagers remember them to this day.
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It is like you were there!
- By Gina on 06-17-21
By: Bing West
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The Time Paradox
- The New Psychology of Time That Will Change Your Life
- By: Philip Zimbardo, John Boyd
- Narrated by: Matthew Josdal
- Length: 12 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Your every significant choice - every important decision you make - is determined by a force operating deep inside your mind: your perspective on time - your internal, personal time zone. This is the most influential force in your life, yet you are virtually unaware of it. Once you become aware of your personal time zone, you can begin to see and manage your life in exciting new ways.
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Not meant for audio format
- By S. Parikh on 05-22-23
By: Philip Zimbardo, and others
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1777
- Tipping Point at Saratoga
- By: Dean Snow
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 14 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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In the autumn of 1777, near Saratoga, New York, an inexperienced and improvised American army led by General Horatio Gates faced off against the highly trained British and German forces led by General John Burgoyne. The British strategy in confronting the Americans in upstate New York was to separate rebellious New England from the other colonies.
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Very Interesting & Factual
- By ThatGuyOutWest on 06-08-18
By: Dean Snow
The second half of the book, where we learn about the origins of Boyd's theories and their fundamental principles, I found to be more compelling, though the subject matter requires a lot of secondary reading to fully appreciate. The OODA Loop can be a powerful tool if understood.
On pure literary value, the stories that fill this book entertained me and never felt the pace drag.
Critique: the author goes to great lengths, through tone, word choice, etc., to paint Boyd as the white knight and everyone opposed to him as enemies. In reality nothing is ever this cut and dry. The Pentagon and Generals seemed almost mystical in their disdain for the well-being of servicemen. Then again, this depiction may be entirely accurate and lacking undue bias.
Outstanding
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The performance was done well too.
John Boyd a true maverick of the 29th century
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Excellent, significant, and entertaining!
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Remarkable!
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Much of this is accurate to my impression, but a significant and repeated pattern is that Boyd comes into conflict with a superior officer and an even more superior officer or official comes to his rescue. This seems to paint a narrative of Boyd being one, important and focal, but still only one piece in a larger narrative of cultural shift within the military following Vietnam. That the book does little to address why and how Boyd secured support from high officials (beyond arguing that he was obviously right and people not blinded by careerism obviously supported him) and what their role in the cultural shift was suggests a more nuanced, larger picture than the one man versus the world narrative the book presents.
Indeed, it seems to be Boyd's failure to appreciate and operate on a higher level that leads to much of the suffering and tragedy of his life - making enemies where it was unnecessary and failing to take opportunities to gain political capital at little cost. That the book seems as blind to this dimension as Boyd was is perhaps an artifact of it being a biography rather than a history, and indeed being a biography of this particular man.
But then, I probably wouldn't have picked up and read straight through "A History of Cultural Conflict Within the US Defense Establishment of the Late 20th Century" the way I did "Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War."
The Book Boyd Would Have Written If He Could
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Colonel John Boyd: Disruptor & Leader
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awesome book
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Excellent
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Incredible!
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Neccessary PME
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