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. In this memoir, a farm boy-turned-engineer relates with humor and aplomb 40 years of work in the aerospace industry.Specializing in rescuing troubled efforts that were over budget and behind schedule, he relates his own stories of pulling a project's bacon out of the fire while sharing insights about growing up in a values-driven Western Pennsylvania community and working his way through technical school and college. He reflects on life's idiosyncrasies, the knowledge he's collected, and struggles with spirituality. As an added bonus, the story illustrates the humorous side of aerospace engineering, with hilarious personal anecdotes coloring the pages.Aspiring engineers, seasoned professionals, and anyone fascinated by the history of aerospace will find this enjoyable memoir both inspirational and informative.

Genres: Biography

290 pages, Paperback

Published August 17, 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!