Kelly

Clarence L. “Kelly” Johnson led the design of such crucial aircraft as the P-38 and Constellation but he will be more remembered for the U-2 and SR-71 spy planes. His extraordinary leadership of the Lockheed “Skunk Works” cemented his reputation as a legendary figure in American aerospace management. “Reads like the autobiography of the American dream. . . A readable collection of the people and influences that touched his life and remarkable career. Highly recommended.”—<i>Library Journal<br></i><br>“The highly objective autobiography of one of the real giants of the aerospace world . . . written so clearly that the average person cannot only understand it but gets caught up in it.”—<i>Aerospace Historian<br></i><br>“Fast-paced very readable and technically interesting. It covers a fifty-year span of American aviation without being a history book. . . What makes this book so valuable is Mr. Johnson's exposition of the mind-set to find the simplest least expensive fix to each technological problem. . . . Recommended for all harried technologists and defense planners it will encourage one's faith that a better way is possible.”—H. Lawrence Elman <i>National Defense<br><br></i>“A good look at a fascinating man who has led and who continues to lead a perfectly charmed life.—<i>Air Force </i> Clarence L. “Kelly” Johnson was an aviation engineer best known for his work on the Lockheed U-2 and SR-71 Blackbird planes.