Luckiest Engineer: From Farm Boy to Skunk Works and Beyond

by Robert Retsch

What does it take to design and build the world's most sophisticated aerospace hardware? The coordinated efforts of thousands of people at all levels of design, fabrication, manufacturing, and test. This memoir features the work of a farm boy turned engineer, whose involvement working on unparalleled aerospace vehicles and systems of the last 50 years makes for some great stories. Specializing in rescuing troubled efforts that were over budget and behind schedule, he shares his own techniques for pulling a project's bacon out of the fire. Also included are the author's insights about growing up in a values-driven community in Western Pennsylvania and working his way through technical school and college. Throughout his story, Bob reflects on the idiosyncrasies in life, the knowledge he collects along the way, and his struggles with spirituality. As an added bonus, "Luckiest Engineer" shows the humorous side of aerospace engineering, highlighting many hilarious personal anecdotes. All readers, including aspiring engineers, seasoned professionals, and anyone fascinated by the history of aerospace will find this enjoyable memoir both inspirational and informative.

Genres: Biography

318 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 1, 2020

Reviews

[Felicia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not enjoy a minute of this book. The author comes off as arrogant and thinking of themselves as better than others making him hard to relate to and sympathize with. He makes no acknowledgement of his privilege, equating all of his success to his determination and “luck”. He goes as far as to complain that the airlines would only employ black graduates to fill a “diversity quota” and that a woman in his class only got a higher mark than him because she was attractive and dressed provocatively. The book is full to the brim of off-colour jokes, remarks and stories that the author makes no apologies for. Although there are some interesting engineering projects discussed, he makes no effort to break them down for less technical readers, making this book only suitable for individuals who already posses a mechanical background.

[bob ham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and contrary to another reviewer who gave it a one star, did not find the author arrogant at all. His stories of the work environment, co-workers, and projects were very interesting. I recommend this book to readers interested in aerospace engineering and the culture within.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being an engineer myself I could relate to the story. I highly enjoyed it because it brought me back through the timeline of my own career along with the good and the bad times. It was a great read for me!