...translation of the most fascinating book “Skunk Works. A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed." The Skunk Works was a secret division of the Lockheed Corporation created in 1943 to speed up the development of America's first jet fighter, the P-80. They also created such famous aircraft as the F-104, the first fighter with a speed of Mach 2, the U-2, which flew over the USSR for 4 years, the incredible SR-71 Blackbird, which flew at a speed of Mach 3 and an altitude of 24 kilometers, the first stealth F-117A , F-22 and many others. Skunk Works have long become a part of American engineering (and not only) culture: they are proud of them, their aircraft are exhibited in museums across the country. The book about Skunk Works is included in the ratings of books that shape engineering thinking. The term “skunk works” itself has long become a household word and is widely used, including in popular culture. The book is full of interesting facts, stories and first-person revelations. Why did the Soviet Union fail to shoot down the U-2 for 4 years and why did the Americans want to break through the Iron Curtain so much? Why can titanium be a very brittle material and how much did it cost to maintain the SR-71? Whose theory helped the Americans create stealth technology, which is used today in all new combat aircraft?... (Ilya Volkov)