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BOYD: THE
FIGHTER PILOT WHO CHANGED THE ART OF WAR
Robert
Coram
Many who knew Col.
John Boyd during his lifetime, or who heard of him, were aware only of certain facets of his career.
But Boyd may have been the most important unknown man of his time and the most remarkable unsung hero in American
military history.
You can read below what the publisher is telling book buyers around the country about the Boyd biography - BOYD: THE
FIGHTER PILOT WHO CHANGED THE ART OF WAR - that will be published in November.
Boyd was all the things mentioned by the publisher. And more.
Boyd, more than any other person, saved fighter aviation from predations of the Strategic Air Command. His manual of fighter tactics improved the way every air force in the world flies and fights.
He discovered and developed the Energy-Maneuverability Theory which today is fundamental to any study of aviation. He developed the OODA Loop, an idea now used by much of the world, oftentimes without knowing Boyd was the source.
In one of the most startling and unknown stories of modern military history, this Air Force fighter pilot taught the U.S. Marine Corps how to fight war on the ground.
His ideas on waging war led to America’s swift and decisive victory in the Gulf War and foretold the terrorist attacks of 9/11/2001.
Because Boyd rarely met a general he couldn’t offend, many senior officers today dismiss him as a man who had a flair for
math, but who otherwise was an unprofessional officer unworthy of promotion and incapable of making any contribution to the
military.
But there is still more. In the Boyd biography you will find:
How the F-15 almost had a variable-sweep wing and how Boyd, by making it a fixed wing aircraft, saved the Air Force from having to adopt another saltwater airplane.
The untold story of Boyd’s pivotal role in Mission BOLO.
The never-before told story of Boyd’s role in developing plans for the Gulf War.
What Vice President Dick Cheney says today about Boyd.
Whether you like Boyd or not, whether you believe he was capable of all this or not, his biography is a book you will want to
read and to have in your library. I hope you will e-mail your friends about it.
Cordially,
Ginger Richards
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PUBLISHER'S COMMENTS
Coram's biography of John Boyd will be published by Little, Brown & Company in November, 2002. The following appears
in the Little, Brown sales catalog:
Boyd-The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War
Robert Coram
What Tom Wolfe did for Chuck Yeager in THE RIGHT STUFF, Robert Coram now does for John Boyd - our
greatest fighter pilot and most brilliant military theorist.
John Boyd was the greatest fighter pilot in American history. He defeated every pilot who challenged him in less than 40
seconds. But what made Boyd a man for the ages was what happened after he left the cockpit. Boyd made a career of
challenging the intractable Pentagon bureaucracy, making enemies and a few devoted disciples who would become known as
"The Acolytes." Boyd transformed the way military aircraft - in particular the F-15 and F-16 - were designed with his
revolutionary "Energy-Maneuverability Theory," fighting the Air Force's entrenched ideas every step of the way. He then
dedicated lonely years to a radical theory of conflict that at the time was mostly ignored, but now is acclaimed as the most
influential thinking about conflict since Sun-Tzu.
A man of daring, of ferocious passion, of remarkable stubbornness, John Boyd was that most American of heroes - a rebel
who cared not for his reputation or fortune, but for his country. And in BOYD, Robert Coram finally tells his incredible
story. Until now, John Boyd has been the great secret hero of the American military. No longer.
BOYD comes at a moment when America finds its front pages filled with details of military strategy and patriotic enthusiasm for our armed forces.
There is a huge core audience for this book: everyone who has flown for the military recognized John Boyd's name, and many still worship him.
Robert Coram is the author of three acclaimed nonfiction books and seven novels. Twice nominated for a
Pulitzer Prize for his work at The Atlanta Constitution, his work also has appeared in the New Yorker and
numerous other magazines. He is a commercial-rated pilot and is one of the few civilians to have flown in both
the F-100 and the F-15. Coram lives in Atlanta.
______________________________
Here are the blurbs that will appear on the book, Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War, by Robert
Coram, to be published by Little, Brown in November 2002.
“The military services should welcome more people like Colonel John Boyd. He was something of a legend in the Pentagon –
for his willingness to swim against the tide and to challenge service orthodoxy.”
James Schlesinger, former Secretary of Defense
“Coram has captured the invincible spirit that is John Boyd in all its fury and intensity of purpose and genius. Though the book
is about Boyd the fighter pilot – who made lasting contributions to aeronautical design and warfare – to me, Colonel Boyd will
always be a brave-hearted soldier for the truth. He was a man who relished a world-class confrontation with the top brass on
things that really mattered. He inspired others to follow. And that includes me.”
Senator Charles Grassley, Iowa
“Robert Coram’s book paints an extremely accurate picture of a man whose contributions to the art of war rival
those of the greatest military minds. In no small way, the victory in Desert Storm belongs to John Boyd, and
more importantly, victory in future conflict will belong to him also. Robert Coram has captured the essence of
the man. This book is a must-read . . . not just for the warrior but for the statesman as well!”
General Charles Krulak, (Ret.) Former
Commandant, U.S. Marine Corps
“What a story! Robert Coram’s Boyd is the exhaustively researched, dramatically written biography of one of
America’s little-known military heroes. John Boyd was a tough, uncompromising maverick of a fighter pilot and
Coram tells this unforgettable story with the same passion as the man who lived it. A great read!”
William Diehl, author of EUREKA
“Coram captures the essence of John Boyd. It is all there: the audacious candor, the trenchant wit, the unbridled arrogance,
the intellectual honesty, the courage borne of conviction, the patriotic fervor, the unyielding determination, the heart of the
fighter pilot, but – most of all – the truly brilliant mind. Bravo!”
Ron “Mugs” McKeown, first commander
of the U.S. Navy’s Top Gun School
As for his family, he was born in Erie, PA on January 23,
1927, the fourth child of Hubert and Elsie Boyd. Hubert died when John Boyd was only three years old. Hubert was of Irish extraction, the son of Mary Golden and Thomas
Boyd. Thomas Boyd worked on a boat, probably a fishing boat, on the Great Lakes.
Elsie was German, the daughter of Julia and Rudolph Beyer. Her father was a farmer just south of Erie. John Boyd had three older siblings: Bill, who died in his
twenties; Marion, who today lives in Erie; and Hubert - called Gerry - who lives in Florida. Boyd's younger sister Ann died of cancer
about 1972.
Robert
Coram
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COLONIAL WARS
AMERICAN REV.
WAR OF 1812
MEXICAN WAR
INDIAN WARS
CIVIL WAR
SPANISH - AMERICAN WAR
USA military: Great White Fleet - Atlantic Fleet bound for the Pacific, Dec 16, 1907
BOER WAR
SCOT'S BRIGADE
Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army
KOREAN CONFLICT
VIETNAM War
PERSIAN GULF WAR
World War I - US-
World War I - Australia
World War I - Canada -
WORLD WAR I CIVILIAN DRAFT
WORLD WAR II
WWII New Zealand
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NOTES
TO RESEARCHERS
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