49 Books Like Skunk Works

I was inexorably drawn into this book, as it fulfilled all my expectations of what a good military aviation techno-thriller should be. It had excellent flying sequences, personal drama, some romance thrown in to add flavor, and rivalry with another skilled pilot.

When I come across such a book, I don’t let go, and I did not let go of this one. It opened an enthralling world into what it takes to teach fighter tactics to already experienced pilots, told from a totally entertaining viewpoint that never descended into dull narrative. I loved the flying sequences, making me believe I was there in the cockpit with the pilot.

If I wanted to learn what it took to become a US Air Force aviator, I found the perfect book. I had several good chuckles at what raw recruits endured at Pensacola at the hands of no-nonsense instructors. A fail at boot camp meant getting washed out.

When the story’s main character graduated to flying single-engine propeller aircraft, I was in the sky with him and his close friend. Transitioning to jets made my day, as did an occasional amusing amour. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and gained valuable information for my own writing. However, I could not help but wonder whether real life would actually be that romantic.

War is a fundamentally human enterprise. This vivid retelling of how pioneering figures like Haywood Hansell and Curtis LeMay struggled to make the best and most humane use of the powerful new military technology of high-altitude aerial bombardment is also a parable for our age. 

In the book, which began as a podcast and whose audiobook is especially engaging, Malcolm Gladwell explores themes still with us as we wrestle with how to ethically adopt AI-driven autonomous weapons and the uses to which they should be put.

In many ways, this book epitomizes qualities of a good techno-thriller: personal development, exciting aviation scenes, a place in US power projection, believable characters.

I particularly like the flying sequences told by a pilot who used to fly Intruders in a manner totally believable. I enjoyed the interaction between the two principal characters, sprinkled with heart-stopping drama. I found myself turning pages, wanting more, nodding with satisfaction when the author delivered.

Despite the United States doing its post-war best to accelerate the disintegration of British, French, and Dutch empires, the nation funded some 75% of the cost of the French fight against communist Viet Minh forces.

Martin Windrow, an accomplished editor, has here produced a masterpiece and certainly the definitive account of the battle for Dien Bien Phu and the political and military context. Such is the power of the book that I was compelled to visit the battle site in 2006 and marvel that any military commander would consider building a base in a bowl.

There are many lessons to be learned from the battle, political, strategic, and tactical. The book is referenced and includes clear maps and orders of battle. Just superb.

I love this book because the scenes of ariel combat are so realistic. I learned a lot about fighter aircraft and how the Russians could have gotten the better of us with newer technology until one of our own old aircraft was retrofitted to make her superior. Once I got into the fight scenes, I could not put the book down until I found out “who won!”

Unsung Eagles is an intimate tour-de-force of air combat in World War II told, literally, from the perspective of the pilots themselves. The pilots who provided their stories for this book were all unassuming men from humble backgrounds. Yet, after Pearl Harbor, they gladly raised their right hands and swore an oath to defeat the Axis Powers. These brave young men flew various combat missions over the European and Pacific theaters. Yet, after the war, they came home to resume their normal lives and said nary a word about their wartime service, until now.

This book focuses on Octave Chanute's work in aeronautics.

He is best known for his scientific and collaborative support of the Wright Brothers. But as the author clearly demonstrates, this engineer's contributions to the field of aviation have often been underestimated, even though almost every famous and not-so-famous aviation enthusiast contacted him and used the readily available drawings of his glider to build and then learn to fly their own design.

Chanute's biplane glider design, developed and first flown in 1896 in the Indiana Dunes along Lake Michigan, proved to be a key step in the evolution of the flying machine.

By freely sharing not only drawings of the general design of this aircraft, but also the lessons learned, the biplane became the starting point or prototype for many experimenters and can be considered the foundation of the modern airplane.

I was thrilled and partly moved to tears when reading about the human side of the Wright brothers' story, including the little-known contributions of their sister Katharine, without whom things might well have turned out differently for them.

The two mechanics from Dayton were men of extraordinary courage and determination, with wide-ranging intellectual interests and an insatiable curiosity, much of which they attributed to their upbringing.

That they had no more than a public high school education, little money, and no contacts in high places never stopped them in their "mission" to take to the air. Nothing did, not even that they risked being killed every time they took off.

I expected a book of insider stories about the hidden world of commercial airline travel from the people who make it possible, but instead I found a beautifully written, lyrical, and awestruck look at what it means to travel high above the Earth’s surface day after day, zooming between cities on opposite sides of the world.

I have never had the physics of flight, gravitational pull, wind, storms, and clouds explained so clearly and compellingly. I frequently reread passages for their beauty and emotion and completely unique fresh perspective. I knew flying was a sophisticated skill, but this book made it clear how truly complex a pilot’s job is.

The author’s love of his hard-won occupation is enthralling, making this a book to share with aspiring aviators in your life.