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Quick answer: If you loved Skunk Works, read Ben R. Rich and Leo Janos's Skunk Works, then Mark Bowden's Black Hawk Down, then Stephen Coonts's Flight of the Intruder, and Dale Brown's Flight of the Old Dog and Tom Clancy's The Hunt for Red October. All are Cold War aviation and military history.
Ben Rich's Skunk Works is the story of Lockheed's secret design team. These picks share its engineering and intrigue.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Ages | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skunk Works | Ben R. Rich and Leo Janos | Adult | aviation history |
| Black Hawk Down | Mark Bowden | Adult | military reportage |
| Flight of the Intruder | Stephen Coonts | Adult | naval aviation |
| Flight of the Old Dog | Dale Brown | Adult | aviation thriller |
| The Hunt for Red October | Tom Clancy | Adult | readers who like military thrillers |
| Red Storm Rising | Tom Clancy and Larry Bond | Adult | a bigger war |
| Carrying the Fire | Michael Collins | Adult | Apollo memoir |
| Lone Survivor | Marcus Luttrell | Adult | SEAL memoirs |
| Unbroken | Laura Hillenbrand | Adult | survival in captivity |
| The Outpost | Jake Tapper | Adult | Afghanistan war history |
| Band of Brothers | Stephen E. Ambrose | Adult | European war |
| Red Platoon | Clinton Romesha | Adult | a soldier's own battle story |
| Das Boot | Lothar-Günther Buchheim | Adult | enemy perspective |
| Run Silent, Run Deep | Edward L. Beach | Adult | submarine war |
| The Making of the Atomic Bomb | Richard Rhodes | Adult | readers who want the full story |
1. Skunk Works by Ben R. Rich and Leo Janos
The former head of Lockheed's secret Skunk Works unit tells how his team built the U-2, the SR-71 and the stealth fighter. Technical and fast.
Best for: aviation history.
2. Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden
A minute-by-minute account of a 1993 US raid in Mogadishu. Gripping and based on interviews.
Best for: military reportage.
3. Flight of the Intruder by Stephen Coonts
A Navy pilot flies bombing missions over Vietnam. Written by a former pilot, gripping and authentic.
Best for: naval aviation.
4. Flight of the Old Dog by Dale Brown
A crew flies an old bomber on a secret mission. Fast and technical.
Best for: aviation thriller.
5. The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy
A Soviet submarine captain defects, and Jack Ryan must figure out why. Tense and technical.
Best for: readers who like military thrillers.
6. Red Storm Rising by Tom Clancy and Larry Bond
A conventional war breaks out between NATO and the Soviet Union. A large and detailed thriller about strategy.
Best for: a bigger war.
7. Carrying the Fire by Michael Collins
The Apollo 11 astronaut who stayed in orbit writes with candour and wit. Widely praised as one of the best astronaut memoirs.
Best for: Apollo memoir.
8. Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell
A Navy SEAL's account of a failed mission in Afghanistan. Intense and personal.
Best for: SEAL memoirs.
9. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
An Olympic runner survives a plane crash and a Japanese prison camp. Epic and harrowing.
Best for: survival in captivity.
10. The Outpost by Jake Tapper
Journalist Jake Tapper reconstructs the history of Combat Outpost Keating, a remote Afghan base attacked in 2009. Well reported and gripping.
Best for: Afghanistan war history.
11. Band of Brothers by Stephen E. Ambrose
The story of Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry, from training to the war's end. Popular and well researched.
Best for: European war.
12. Red Platoon by Clinton Romesha
A Medal of Honor recipient recounts the 2009 Battle of Kamdesh, when his Afghan outpost came under attack from hundreds of insurgents. Tense and humane.
Best for: a soldier's own battle story.
13. Das Boot by Lothar-Günther Buchheim
A war correspondent joins a German U-boat on patrol. Claustrophobic and grim.
Best for: enemy perspective.
14. Run Silent, Run Deep by Edward L. Beach
A submarine commander seeks revenge in the Pacific. Tight and authentic, from a real submariner.
Best for: submarine war.
15. The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes
The definitive history of the Manhattan Project, from physics to Hiroshima. Long and rewarding.
Best for: readers who want the full story.
How We Chose These Books
Every pick is a real, widely available book that shares something specific with Skunk Works: its tone, its themes, its pace or the kind of characters it puts at the center. We mixed well-known favorites with a few less obvious titles, and we noted who each book suits best so you can match it to the reader. Where a book belongs to a series, we list the first volume so you can start at the beginning.
If you are not sure where to begin, start with the first three picks in the table: they are the closest match to Skunk Works. The rest of the list moves further out, so it works well once you know which part of the original you liked most.
How to Choose
For aviation, read The Right Stuff. For military history, try Black Hawk Down. For fiction, pick The Hunt for Red October.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who wrote Skunk Works?
Ben R. Rich and Leo Janos.
What is it about?
Lockheed's secret design unit.
Is it fast to read?
Yes, it is written for general readers.
Which book here is best for readers who want the full story?
Try The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes, which suits readers looking for readers who want the full story.
Which book here is best for submarine war?
Try Run Silent, Run Deep by Edward L. Beach, which suits readers looking for submarine war.
Which book here is best for enemy perspective?
Try Das Boot by Lothar-Günther Buchheim, which suits readers looking for enemy perspective.
Which book here is best for a soldier's own battle story?
Try Red Platoon by Clinton Romesha, which suits readers looking for a soldier's own battle story.