I'm a little bit obsessed with John Boyd and his theory of the OODA loop, but I knew little about the man himself. Corman paints a picture of a brilliant iconoclast: swimmer, fighter tactics instructor, engineer, Pentagon warrior, and finally philosopher-strategist. Corman draws heavily on the memories of Boyd's Acolytes, the six people closest too him in his career, his reticent family, and the public record. As Corman will freely admit, sometimes the myth overtakes the man, but the myth is more correct.

Boyd was a character. He had three good ideas in his life, which is three more than most people have. He literally wrote the book on air-to-air combat, revolutionized aircraft design with Energy-Maneuverability theory, and his OODA loop has become the dominant strategic metaphor of the 21st century. But for all that brilliance, and his frequent tactical victories and "hosings" of those who opposed him, he lost the war. Pentagon procurement is still very expensive gold-plated systems. Get-along managers rather than principled warriors are promoted. And Boyd's personal life was a wreck, and he died practically penniless and alienated from his children. But for all that, this was a great book and a great biography.

To share one bit of Boydian wisdom: You can either be somebody or do something. Follow the rules, agree with your superiors, and you'll rise to the best of your abilities but accomplish nothing. Stick to your principles, fight for what's right, and take no shit from anybody, and you may go down in flames but you'll have fought with honor. It's your life, so what will you do with it?