Chapter 5, How We Skunks Got Our Name Summary and Analysis

The book turns back the clock to Ben Rich's first day at Skunk Works, in 1954. Rich was twenty-nine, a thermodynamicist who specialized in solving heat problems and designing inlet and exhaust ducts in airplane engines. He began his work building the F-104 Starfighter, the US's first supersonic jet. All Lockheed projects were of this great magnitude. Working with Kelly Johnson was intimidating, due to his personality and skill but Rich was happy to work under Johnson rather than at the main Lockheed facility, where he was before. Initially, he only expected to work with Skunk Works for a few weeks.

Ben Rich was raised in the '30s and '40s by his father, Isidore, and mother, Annie. Isidore ran a hardware lumber mill and Annie was a talented...