What do you think?
Rate this book
The Rickover Effect: How One Man Made A Difference
As Technical Director, Rockwell worked alongside the legendary Admiral Rickover for the first 15 years, creating the nuclear navy, then the world s first commercial atomic power station. Rickover was both admired and hated as he forcibly reformed both bureaucracies and industries to harness the fearsome atom.
488 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 1992
24 people are currently reading
857 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
Want to read
December 18, 2009http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/ai...
Rickover was awesome. He invented the high-stress engineering interview, for which we all might be thankful when we cross a bridge. Nothing like a good engineering interview to get the blood flowing:
Hire the Best
There is little disagreement that successful organizations must have adequate leadership. Yet, the Naval Reactors experience strongly suggests that followers are just as important to organizational effectivenes--a fact that did not escape Rickover. He stated, "The only thing I've done is to hire people smarter than me." In this regard, Rickover went to extreme, and some would say, bizarre ends to ensure that Naval Reactors got only those with the "right stuff" from both the U.S. Naval Academy and civilian universities. The selection process began with a long interview (perhaps several hours), conducted by Rickover's senior staff, in which the candidate was quizzed about his technical knowledge, intellect, and character. A report of the interview was then sent to Rickover. Eventually, the candidate was led into the admiral's office. Generally speaking, Rickover's interviews lasted a few minutes to perhaps one-half hour, and his techniques soon became legendary within the Navy. Some called them cruel, others in ane, but most candidates never forgot their few minutes with the admiral. His purpose was to put the candidate under stress. "I've got to shake them up," Rickover told his senior staff. Thus, he often asked questions that were unexpected. For instance, he would ask a midshipman about his marriage plans. After hearing the response, Rickover might ask if the candidate would be willing to postpone his wedding for the sake of Naval Reactors. Or, he might ask why a candidate's class rank was not higher, and why they had not done better. Such a question even prompted a future president (Jimmy Carter) to name his autobiography after a question Rickover had posed to him--"Why Not The Best?" There usually were no right or wrong answers. What Rickover hoped to discern was a person's motivation, strengths and weaknesses, along with their reactions under fire.
Jimmy relates his Rickover interview: "I had applied for the nuclear submarine program, and Admiral Rickover was interviewing me for the job. It was the first time I met Admiral Rickover, and we sat in a large room by ourselves for more than two hours, and he let me choose any subjects I wished to discuss. Very carefully, I chose those about which I knew most at the time--current events, seamanship, music, literature, naval tactics, electronics, gunnery--and he began to ask me a series of questions of increasing difficulty. In each instance, he soon proved that I knew relatively little about the subject I had chosen. He always looked right into my eyes, and he never smiled. I was saturated with cold sweat. Finally he asked a question and I thought I could redeem myself. He said, "How did you stand in your class at the Naval Academy?" Since I had completed my sophomore year at Georgia Tech before entering Annapolis as a plebe, I had done very well, and I swelled my chest with pride and answered, "Sir, I stood fifty-ninth in a class of 820!" I sat back to wait for the congratulations--which never came. Instead, the question: "Did you do your best?" I started to say, "Yes, sir," but I remembered who this was and recalled several of the many times at the Academy when I could have learned more about our allies, our enemies, weapons, strategy, and so forth. I was just human. I finally gulped and said, "No, sir, I didn't always do my best." He looked at me for a long time, and then turned his chair around to end the interview. He asked one final question, which I have never been able to forget--or to answer. He said, "Why not?" I sat there for a while, shaken, and then slowly left the room."
Rickover was awesome. He invented the high-stress engineering interview, for which we all might be thankful when we cross a bridge. Nothing like a good engineering interview to get the blood flowing:
Hire the Best
There is little disagreement that successful organizations must have adequate leadership. Yet, the Naval Reactors experience strongly suggests that followers are just as important to organizational effectivenes--a fact that did not escape Rickover. He stated, "The only thing I've done is to hire people smarter than me." In this regard, Rickover went to extreme, and some would say, bizarre ends to ensure that Naval Reactors got only those with the "right stuff" from both the U.S. Naval Academy and civilian universities. The selection process began with a long interview (perhaps several hours), conducted by Rickover's senior staff, in which the candidate was quizzed about his technical knowledge, intellect, and character. A report of the interview was then sent to Rickover. Eventually, the candidate was led into the admiral's office. Generally speaking, Rickover's interviews lasted a few minutes to perhaps one-half hour, and his techniques soon became legendary within the Navy. Some called them cruel, others in ane, but most candidates never forgot their few minutes with the admiral. His purpose was to put the candidate under stress. "I've got to shake them up," Rickover told his senior staff. Thus, he often asked questions that were unexpected. For instance, he would ask a midshipman about his marriage plans. After hearing the response, Rickover might ask if the candidate would be willing to postpone his wedding for the sake of Naval Reactors. Or, he might ask why a candidate's class rank was not higher, and why they had not done better. Such a question even prompted a future president (Jimmy Carter) to name his autobiography after a question Rickover had posed to him--"Why Not The Best?" There usually were no right or wrong answers. What Rickover hoped to discern was a person's motivation, strengths and weaknesses, along with their reactions under fire.
Jimmy relates his Rickover interview: "I had applied for the nuclear submarine program, and Admiral Rickover was interviewing me for the job. It was the first time I met Admiral Rickover, and we sat in a large room by ourselves for more than two hours, and he let me choose any subjects I wished to discuss. Very carefully, I chose those about which I knew most at the time--current events, seamanship, music, literature, naval tactics, electronics, gunnery--and he began to ask me a series of questions of increasing difficulty. In each instance, he soon proved that I knew relatively little about the subject I had chosen. He always looked right into my eyes, and he never smiled. I was saturated with cold sweat. Finally he asked a question and I thought I could redeem myself. He said, "How did you stand in your class at the Naval Academy?" Since I had completed my sophomore year at Georgia Tech before entering Annapolis as a plebe, I had done very well, and I swelled my chest with pride and answered, "Sir, I stood fifty-ninth in a class of 820!" I sat back to wait for the congratulations--which never came. Instead, the question: "Did you do your best?" I started to say, "Yes, sir," but I remembered who this was and recalled several of the many times at the Academy when I could have learned more about our allies, our enemies, weapons, strategy, and so forth. I was just human. I finally gulped and said, "No, sir, I didn't always do my best." He looked at me for a long time, and then turned his chair around to end the interview. He asked one final question, which I have never been able to forget--or to answer. He said, "Why not?" I sat there for a while, shaken, and then slowly left the room."
September 1, 2023
I haven't been getting a lot of sleep the past couple weeks and part of it is because I couldn't put this book down at night. It is an incredible historical overview of a time when it felt like we could do anything, where one office in the US government, led by one man, was singlehandedly inventing new materials and then building from scratch the industry needed to mass produce incredible technologies, like nuclear reactors and submarines. Ultimately, it is the story of a man who, through sheer conviction and force of will, brought these things into existence and the philosophy that guided him. Seeing Rickover's incredible determination in every page and the bureaucratic imagination he used to accomplish his goals inspires higher vision in one can accomplish and many lessons for how to operate effectively in bureaucracy. Some quick notes on what stood out to me about rickover (stay tuned for longer reflections!):
- demanding perfection, even when placed in seemingly menial positions e.g. when he was in charge of all the electronic components that went into naval vessels, he reorganized the entire office and made the navy's electrical wiring much more efficient, practicing the same principles he would later use at Naval Reactors.
- education as the means to reform minds: a constant focus on building new schools, new ways of teaching and ensuring that what mattered was taught, both in sub school and in nuclear reactors. 80% of his testimony to congress on three mile island talked about the importance of training. While others focused on money or regulatory structures and authority, Rickover focused on how to create institutions for proper training.
- radical responsibility: he made sure everyone underneath him knew exactly what they were responsible for and made sure everyone above him, especially congressional appropriators, knew that he would take responsibility for what happened under his command. Even under the navy's practice of constantly rotating officers (a terrible practice they continue to this day) and a host of other incentive misalignments, he stayed with naval reactors for the majority of his career and refused to leave, because he held himself responsible and knew that no one else would.
- setting a higher vision: I don't know how but Rickover seemed to always have a higher vision for what could be and worked to manifest that. He almost singlehandedly crafted the US nuclear industry and built competent institutions that last to this day, quietly building and operating nuclear reactors while the civilian side has faltered.
Maybe I'm diluting my recommendations because I give most books I read 5 stars (I'd like to think its a sign of good taste!) but I can't recommend this book enough for anyone who wants to see what it takes to build new technologies and build institutions that endure.
- demanding perfection, even when placed in seemingly menial positions e.g. when he was in charge of all the electronic components that went into naval vessels, he reorganized the entire office and made the navy's electrical wiring much more efficient, practicing the same principles he would later use at Naval Reactors.
- education as the means to reform minds: a constant focus on building new schools, new ways of teaching and ensuring that what mattered was taught, both in sub school and in nuclear reactors. 80% of his testimony to congress on three mile island talked about the importance of training. While others focused on money or regulatory structures and authority, Rickover focused on how to create institutions for proper training.
- radical responsibility: he made sure everyone underneath him knew exactly what they were responsible for and made sure everyone above him, especially congressional appropriators, knew that he would take responsibility for what happened under his command. Even under the navy's practice of constantly rotating officers (a terrible practice they continue to this day) and a host of other incentive misalignments, he stayed with naval reactors for the majority of his career and refused to leave, because he held himself responsible and knew that no one else would.
- setting a higher vision: I don't know how but Rickover seemed to always have a higher vision for what could be and worked to manifest that. He almost singlehandedly crafted the US nuclear industry and built competent institutions that last to this day, quietly building and operating nuclear reactors while the civilian side has faltered.
Maybe I'm diluting my recommendations because I give most books I read 5 stars (I'd like to think its a sign of good taste!) but I can't recommend this book enough for anyone who wants to see what it takes to build new technologies and build institutions that endure.
January 5, 2021
Good set of stories about one of the most effective and innovative leaders in modern America. I was fascinated by the stories of how Hyman Rickover delivered multiple seemingly impossible accomplishments at the intersection of extreme technology, government bureaucracy and human performance. That said, the book is really an assembly of anecdotes that roughly move along in chronological order and don’t really provide a story of Hyman Rickover’s life. This book would be a great companion piece to a well-written biography to add firsthand color and stories to help humanize this complicated man, but on its own it isn’t a great read.
July 21, 2020
A great memoir by one of Admiral Rickover's main staff. It provides a striking portrait of what founding a new organization to tackle a futuristic technology looks like and how such an organization succeeds by striving for excellence throughout all its members. Rickover pushed to develop nuclear power for the Navy in five years (and succeeded) when the general consensus was that it would take decades. He was then instrumental in transferring this knowledge to help jumpstart civilian nuclear power. After reading this, I'm inspired to bring this level of competence and vision to my own endeavors and am emboldened to believe that fast profound progress is possible during that brief time when a powerful technology is in its infancy. Furthermore, it reinforced the necessity of deep technical competence in leaders tasked with guiding, developing, and governing these technologies.
March 2, 2018
Great book on a subject, nuclear submarine history, there is just not a lot of. Beginning to end it is full of very interesting facts on the history. However, it more a biography of Thomas Rockwell’s association with Rickover. The 2nd half reads strictly as Rockwell’s experiences. Which is fine just a little misleading. Still a must read.
September 20, 2024
Rickover Effect
I grew up with stories about Rickover. My father was a submariner, conventional and not nuclear, but the stories were still there. I interned at Electric Boat and worked with an engineer who had to completely reorganize lockers on the Ohio as it was being built because Rickover didn’t like one of them that was over a particular hatch. I even got stuck behind his car on the river road to the Submarine Base on my way to pick up my brother, because Rickover told his driver to stop so he could watch a sub going down the Thames.
And … two years later I emerged a product of Rickover’s program. I was an Electronic Technician reactor operator and went through the intense two year training program that ADM Rickover and his team at Naval Reactors created and refined. Dr. John Deutsch, testifying to the President’s [Jimmy Carter] Commission on the Accident at Three Mile Island, said this of Rickover’s program:
“It emphasizes training and education in a way that would be thoroughly astonishing to you if you were not already familiar with it. And I urge you, in the strongest possible terms, to take a look at that program. It is not enough to ask Admiral Rickover to come here and testify in front of you. Mr. Rickover is part of our organization but the Admiral will convey an incredible sense of what he does and how he does it, and the history he brings with it. That will be important to you. I urge you to do it. But I also urge you to step beyond that and actually look and see what is involved in the technical depth of his organization … in the training and education, continuity and certification of operators, exercises, component testing, [and] quality assurance.”
This is a great bio by someone who was close to him for many years and had intimate access. Yes, there is clear admiration on the part of Mr. Rockwell, but he doesn’t sugar coat the ornery side of the man who changed the Navy, private industry and quality assurance.
I highlighted a lot of quotables, many of which not surprisingly are here: WikiQuotes. I'll just leave this here, with a recommendation that if you had anything to do with Navy nuclear power, or are at all familiar with Rickover, read this book.
Rickover's Management Objectives that private utilities should adopt if they wanted to achieve the same safety and reliability record the US Navy nuclear program had (has, still):
1. Require rising standards of adequacy.
2. Be technically self-sufficient.
3. Face facts.
4. Respect even small amounts of radiation.
5. Require adherence to the concept of total responsibility.
6. Develop the capacity to learn from experience.
These are solid advice for any leader.
I grew up with stories about Rickover. My father was a submariner, conventional and not nuclear, but the stories were still there. I interned at Electric Boat and worked with an engineer who had to completely reorganize lockers on the Ohio as it was being built because Rickover didn’t like one of them that was over a particular hatch. I even got stuck behind his car on the river road to the Submarine Base on my way to pick up my brother, because Rickover told his driver to stop so he could watch a sub going down the Thames.
And … two years later I emerged a product of Rickover’s program. I was an Electronic Technician reactor operator and went through the intense two year training program that ADM Rickover and his team at Naval Reactors created and refined. Dr. John Deutsch, testifying to the President’s [Jimmy Carter] Commission on the Accident at Three Mile Island, said this of Rickover’s program:
“It emphasizes training and education in a way that would be thoroughly astonishing to you if you were not already familiar with it. And I urge you, in the strongest possible terms, to take a look at that program. It is not enough to ask Admiral Rickover to come here and testify in front of you. Mr. Rickover is part of our organization but the Admiral will convey an incredible sense of what he does and how he does it, and the history he brings with it. That will be important to you. I urge you to do it. But I also urge you to step beyond that and actually look and see what is involved in the technical depth of his organization … in the training and education, continuity and certification of operators, exercises, component testing, [and] quality assurance.”
This is a great bio by someone who was close to him for many years and had intimate access. Yes, there is clear admiration on the part of Mr. Rockwell, but he doesn’t sugar coat the ornery side of the man who changed the Navy, private industry and quality assurance.
I highlighted a lot of quotables, many of which not surprisingly are here: WikiQuotes. I'll just leave this here, with a recommendation that if you had anything to do with Navy nuclear power, or are at all familiar with Rickover, read this book.
Rickover's Management Objectives that private utilities should adopt if they wanted to achieve the same safety and reliability record the US Navy nuclear program had (has, still):
1. Require rising standards of adequacy.
2. Be technically self-sufficient.
3. Face facts.
4. Respect even small amounts of radiation.
5. Require adherence to the concept of total responsibility.
6. Develop the capacity to learn from experience.
These are solid advice for any leader.
January 1, 2024
Theodore Rockwell gives an insightful view into how Rickover operated. A controversial figure for sure, but one who still has a major impact in the nuclear Navy as a whole. Having studied in Rickover Hall during my Academy days, I see why it was given that name. The submarine is perhaps the most impressive military development of the 20th century and continued to be a formidable force. Lots argue that Rickovers approach was too callous and as a result was detrimental. While there is some merit to this perspective in regard to his people skills, it is also these same people skills that achieved what no one thought was possible.
April 3, 2014
I mixed feelings about this book. It is generally competently written and interesting but doesn't quite cut it as a biography, history or modern business book. HG Rickover was interesting, brilliant and influential but the story told is limited in perspective and very one sided. Because of Rickover and his tremendous quotes the succeeds almost in spite of itself.
Personally I have found the book's HG Rickover quotes extremely useful, well put lesson that I will be sticking on my wall at work - the man knew what was doing and the industrial world today would do well to follow his lessons.
However, reading between the lines, I can see that there was mean, unfunny, micromanagement streak in him that would have made life hell and require real dedication to him and the goals of his program. These negatives sides are hinted and mentioned in passing but are glossed over in general.
The perspective limited - Theodore Rockwell's experience and some input from close friends from the program. Rockwell is not as interesting as the Admiral, nor does he show any particularly great insights. At times, especially the opening section, he goes on name listing / dropping of doubtlessly talented people of little-to-no public interest. Yes they are technically part of the team, but listing them off mostly does not advance the main story of Rickover's organisational and technical management advances.
I would recommend this book to all plant, development program managers and engineers as a useful text, but caution that you have to shift through the chaff and condense the key quotes and anecdotes in to your own bullet points.
Personally I have found the book's HG Rickover quotes extremely useful, well put lesson that I will be sticking on my wall at work - the man knew what was doing and the industrial world today would do well to follow his lessons.
However, reading between the lines, I can see that there was mean, unfunny, micromanagement streak in him that would have made life hell and require real dedication to him and the goals of his program. These negatives sides are hinted and mentioned in passing but are glossed over in general.
The perspective limited - Theodore Rockwell's experience and some input from close friends from the program. Rockwell is not as interesting as the Admiral, nor does he show any particularly great insights. At times, especially the opening section, he goes on name listing / dropping of doubtlessly talented people of little-to-no public interest. Yes they are technically part of the team, but listing them off mostly does not advance the main story of Rickover's organisational and technical management advances.
I would recommend this book to all plant, development program managers and engineers as a useful text, but caution that you have to shift through the chaff and condense the key quotes and anecdotes in to your own bullet points.
August 21, 2017
Admiral Hyman Rickover was the father of the American nuclear Navy. He worked with Westinghouse Electric to build the reactor for the world's first nuclear submarine, USS Nautilus, which was the world's first pressurized-water reactor. Building a nuclear reactor in the 1950s was difficult enough, but how do you do it in the confined space of a submarine hull, which can lean 45 degrees and experience the shock of depth charges? It was tested in the Idaho desert inside a mock hull surrounded by mock ocean water. The reactor needed zirconium cladding for the fuel elements and hafnium control rods; there was no zirconium or hafnium industry in the United States, so Rickover launched them. There were many engineering problems with the new technology, but the nuclear Navy under Rickover's command overcame them all.
Theodore Rockwell was Rickover's associate for many years. He portrays the admiral as a domineering workaholic micromanager, which was probably the only way someone could get done what Rickover got done. Rickover was famous for interviewing all prospective officers of nuclear ships, including the future President Jimmy Carter. The interviews were designed to put the interviewee into a stressful situation, so Rickover could see how he behaves under stress: panics, gives up, or does the right thing; only the latter were deemed fit to be officers of nuclear ships. Rickover also wanted to reform the American education system, but he failed in this effort probably because schools cannot choose their students like Rickover chose his naval officers.
Theodore Rockwell was Rickover's associate for many years. He portrays the admiral as a domineering workaholic micromanager, which was probably the only way someone could get done what Rickover got done. Rickover was famous for interviewing all prospective officers of nuclear ships, including the future President Jimmy Carter. The interviews were designed to put the interviewee into a stressful situation, so Rickover could see how he behaves under stress: panics, gives up, or does the right thing; only the latter were deemed fit to be officers of nuclear ships. Rickover also wanted to reform the American education system, but he failed in this effort probably because schools cannot choose their students like Rickover chose his naval officers.
April 29, 2013
Admiral Rickover and his team pulled off an amazing feat of engineering. They started almost from scratch in 1949 and by 1955 the first nuclear powered submarine was commissioned. The basic reactor design, the pressurized water reactor, also became the worldwide dominant design in the civilian nuclear power industry. This is an under rated story and deserves to be recognized along with the other great achievements of 20th century science and engineering.
May 30, 2017
There were a lot of really good stories in here that really gave me a better idea of the kind of man that Admiral Rickover was. The funny thing is that he is not as mean and rough as I thought he was. He was also a very kind man in many ways. There were times when the stories were more technical in nature and were a little slower but they still provided great information. All in all it was a great read.
February 5, 2021
Fantastic and thorough work on that tenacious and pioneering man.
July 19, 2019
Admiral Rickover is considered the father of the US Nuclear Navy. He built up the nuclear program, creating the standards, training and equipment used to power a nuclear submarine and air craft carriers. Rockwell worked with the Admiral for years and offers this personal biography.
Why I started this book: There are several books about Rickover on the Navy Professional Reaidn
Why I finished it: Fascinating and shaming, what am I doing with my life... I haven't completely created and implemented a new and explosive source of power while working within a major bureaucracy. But a great introduction to the importance of understanding the fundamentals and staying for the boring but essential day to day competencies. Not to mention the struggle it can be to implement a new technology and or platform in the US military. Also I had no idea that Richard G. Scott was a metallurgist by trade and worked closely with Admiral Rickover.
Why I started this book: There are several books about Rickover on the Navy Professional Reaidn
Why I finished it: Fascinating and shaming, what am I doing with my life... I haven't completely created and implemented a new and explosive source of power while working within a major bureaucracy. But a great introduction to the importance of understanding the fundamentals and staying for the boring but essential day to day competencies. Not to mention the struggle it can be to implement a new technology and or platform in the US military. Also I had no idea that Richard G. Scott was a metallurgist by trade and worked closely with Admiral Rickover.
May 25, 2023
Rickover was a genius and his superpower was being a SOaB.
My personal theory is that he was the greatest "applied psychologist" of his generation (in addition to being one of the greatest engineers of his generation) and decided to use that ability to mobilize and drive men on to great things. The ground-level of his insight about human nature was that were lazy sorts and most men will not do the "right thing" without making the alternative unbearably painful. Rickover, as a convincing sadist, was more than happy to provide the pain.
The book is a perfect mix of technical, biographical, and psychological insights from the life of this amazing man.
My personal theory is that he was the greatest "applied psychologist" of his generation (in addition to being one of the greatest engineers of his generation) and decided to use that ability to mobilize and drive men on to great things. The ground-level of his insight about human nature was that were lazy sorts and most men will not do the "right thing" without making the alternative unbearably painful. Rickover, as a convincing sadist, was more than happy to provide the pain.
The book is a perfect mix of technical, biographical, and psychological insights from the life of this amazing man.
December 17, 2017
本書講理論的地方很少
提到核工的地方也都很容易理解
更多的是工業管理
主要在講李高佛對技術如何執行的理念
其實書中的概念在所有工程專案都很適用
雖然科學原理很重要，但是像建造核能潛艦這種巨大的專案
SOP和現場實做技術更為重要
全書向讀者展示了李高佛機車又龜毛，穩定至上的風格
安全係數抓得非常高，而且事事必須要以現場使用需求為重
十分的工程師作派
海軍核子反應爐有嚴密的手冊，完整的訓練
且李高佛堅持開發潛艦用反應器的環境就該跟真實的潛艦一樣
讓後來美國海軍的核安記錄非常優良
(比對蘇聯就更顯得李高佛的高瞻遠矚)
與商用核能的鬆散更是不可同日而語
但這種理念跟科學家還有官僚系統常常有嚴重的衝突
所以李高佛的人緣一直很差，但神奇的是跟國會關係又很好
讓他的政府對手恨得牙癢癢卻扳不倒他
看完全書感覺李高佛跟雍正有點像
有這種上司很痛苦
但他証明了核能可以是幾近零風險的能源
到了現在還是可以給我們很多啟發
提到核工的地方也都很容易理解
更多的是工業管理
主要在講李高佛對技術如何執行的理念
其實書中的概念在所有工程專案都很適用
雖然科學原理很重要，但是像建造核能潛艦這種巨大的專案
SOP和現場實做技術更為重要
全書向讀者展示了李高佛機車又龜毛，穩定至上的風格
安全係數抓得非常高，而且事事必須要以現場使用需求為重
十分的工程師作派
海軍核子反應爐有嚴密的手冊，完整的訓練
且李高佛堅持開發潛艦用反應器的環境就該跟真實的潛艦一樣
讓後來美國海軍的核安記錄非常優良
(比對蘇聯就更顯得李高佛的高瞻遠矚)
與商用核能的鬆散更是不可同日而語
但這種理念跟科學家還有官僚系統常常有嚴重的衝突
所以李高佛的人緣一直很差，但神奇的是跟國會關係又很好
讓他的政府對手恨得牙癢癢卻扳不倒他
看完全書感覺李高佛跟雍正有點像
有這種上司很痛苦
但他証明了核能可以是幾近零風險的能源
到了現在還是可以給我們很多啟發
Want to read
August 26, 2024---------------------
- Casey says Rickover
- Reddit
- Casey says Rickover
July 27, 2017
Story of Admiral Hyman G. Rickover's development of the US Navy's nuclear fleet & his transformation of how industry operates, the "Rickover Effect"
August 2, 2017
Make sure you read for high level- don't feet lost in the weeds.
May 15, 2019
Being a Navy nuc for 6 years and working in a nuclear power plant for 39 years this book had personal interest. If not interested in nuclear energy history read a shorter book.
January 23, 2022
The story of a man with a passion for excellence with a unique management style that mirrors some of the the most progressive management techniques used in todays world.
December 31, 2022
Honestly the most entertaining non-fiction history book I've ever read. What a character!
November 23, 2023
Must read for anyone looking to see how a real person made a real impact on the modern world.
February 28, 2024
I just don’t like this genre and tried to read it, but it’s above my head.
January 27, 2025
My review is here:
https://misterfweem.blogspot.com/2025...
https://misterfweem.blogspot.com/2025...
October 5, 2009
(review is incomplete)
I picked this book off a library shelf on a whim, since I had heard of Rickover as being someone important but knew very little about him. This book is not very well-written nor comprehensive, but it is a relatively quick read for its length, and it gives a vivid if uneven description of what Rickover was like to work for during the years when he had his greatest impact. It is written by a civilian engineer who was one of Rickover's chief assistants at the Navy bureau of ships.
Rickover deserves great credit for advancing the development of nuclear-reactor propulsion for naval ships, particularly submarines. A submarine's most serious vulnerability is its need to surface; submarine technology up til WWII always required the boat to surface daily or nearly daily to run its engines and recharge its batteries. Thus a nuclear powerplant offered a revolutionary improvement in submarine capability by permitting the submarine to operate almost indefinitely without surfacing. Rickover, while not the first person to recognize this opportunity, was the first person with any authority or power to do so, and to recognize that it was technicially and budgetarily feasible. He recognized the value to the country (not to mention his career) to develop this weapon, and thus embarked on a nearly decade-long quest to get it done. Starting as only a mid-level officer (a colonel) in 1945, he accomplished this project by sheer force of energy and determination, battling the bureaucracy for the staff and resources he needed, cajoling major corporations like Westinghouse and General Electric to develop prototypes for him, and personally overseeing the engineering with great technical skill. He went on to lead the Navy's nuclear propulsion effort for nearly another forty years. His work, or at least the early part of it, is an inspirational story of successful technical leadership.
interviewing and selecting people
reading assignments for staff
thoroughness and technical quality
commitment to joint civilian control and absolutely rigorous safety procedures
crew quizzes and inspections
story of initial prototyping and launch and sea trials and polar navigations, very compelling
commitment to following rules yet broke them when needed
rickover's involvement in the three mile island inquiry
started to do important things while in his late 40s. encouraging to think about
almost ascetic lifestyle
ferocious temper and abusive style of intimidating his underlings. insistence on seeing carbon copies
book short changes other aspects of the engineering dictated by combat requirements such as speed which may have motivated the liquid-metal-coolant designs
says almost nothing about the russians and the effect of their submarine development on US plans (which lagged the americans overall but later overtook them in some areas such as titanium hull construction)
commitment to sefety, yet no mention of what would happen to the reactor of a submarine if it was damaged in combat - or even any mention that the engineers considered this possibility, although it is hard to believe they didn't.
very little discussion of the way the ICBM-equipped submarines affected the global nuclear deterrent balance
A keen advocate of basic science for yet disdainful of letting pure scientists set research priorities
cameo appearances by edward teller and jimmy carter
I picked this book off a library shelf on a whim, since I had heard of Rickover as being someone important but knew very little about him. This book is not very well-written nor comprehensive, but it is a relatively quick read for its length, and it gives a vivid if uneven description of what Rickover was like to work for during the years when he had his greatest impact. It is written by a civilian engineer who was one of Rickover's chief assistants at the Navy bureau of ships.
Rickover deserves great credit for advancing the development of nuclear-reactor propulsion for naval ships, particularly submarines. A submarine's most serious vulnerability is its need to surface; submarine technology up til WWII always required the boat to surface daily or nearly daily to run its engines and recharge its batteries. Thus a nuclear powerplant offered a revolutionary improvement in submarine capability by permitting the submarine to operate almost indefinitely without surfacing. Rickover, while not the first person to recognize this opportunity, was the first person with any authority or power to do so, and to recognize that it was technicially and budgetarily feasible. He recognized the value to the country (not to mention his career) to develop this weapon, and thus embarked on a nearly decade-long quest to get it done. Starting as only a mid-level officer (a colonel) in 1945, he accomplished this project by sheer force of energy and determination, battling the bureaucracy for the staff and resources he needed, cajoling major corporations like Westinghouse and General Electric to develop prototypes for him, and personally overseeing the engineering with great technical skill. He went on to lead the Navy's nuclear propulsion effort for nearly another forty years. His work, or at least the early part of it, is an inspirational story of successful technical leadership.
interviewing and selecting people
reading assignments for staff
thoroughness and technical quality
commitment to joint civilian control and absolutely rigorous safety procedures
crew quizzes and inspections
story of initial prototyping and launch and sea trials and polar navigations, very compelling
commitment to following rules yet broke them when needed
rickover's involvement in the three mile island inquiry
started to do important things while in his late 40s. encouraging to think about
almost ascetic lifestyle
ferocious temper and abusive style of intimidating his underlings. insistence on seeing carbon copies
book short changes other aspects of the engineering dictated by combat requirements such as speed which may have motivated the liquid-metal-coolant designs
says almost nothing about the russians and the effect of their submarine development on US plans (which lagged the americans overall but later overtook them in some areas such as titanium hull construction)
commitment to sefety, yet no mention of what would happen to the reactor of a submarine if it was damaged in combat - or even any mention that the engineers considered this possibility, although it is hard to believe they didn't.
very little discussion of the way the ICBM-equipped submarines affected the global nuclear deterrent balance
A keen advocate of basic science for yet disdainful of letting pure scientists set research priorities
cameo appearances by edward teller and jimmy carter
August 8, 2015
Admiral Hymen Rickover was the father of the nuclear Navy. Admiral Rickover is to technical program management what Einstein is to science, or Tesla to engineering. He is the best. Most of the books about him focus on leadership, but
The Rickover Effect
, written by one of his long-serving engineers, is about his ability to get the job done in a Big Government environment. He built an organization permeated by robust accountability and the ties that bind, in the form of an almost quasi-religious devotion of the entire organization to its leader and to its mission. Admiral Rickover is the perfect case study when it comes to the contrast between “technical” engineering and social engineering presented in
Hillary Clinton's Village
. After he retired from the Navy, Admiral Rickover sought to apply his unique program management skills to the problem of American education – a social engineering project unlike the technical engineering projects he had always succeeded at so brilliantly. His failure at social engineering was as dismal, as his technical engineering successes were triumphant.
February 16, 2016
An outstanding description of Admiral Rickover and the effect he had on the Navy and industry. The book chronicles Rickover's career from the point of view of Rockwell. The insight into what Rickover accomplished and his personality are great reading.
June 11, 2011
Great inspiring book for engineers & other fields--dry though, and very subject-matter-specific. (subject matter is development of Nuclear Power technology)
November 11, 2011
A pretty good book. Rickover was definitely an interesting man. Knew how to get things done. That is How Lou Sees It. www.howlouseesit.blogspot.com
April 20, 2013
Allens book appears more objective but its difficult to judge. Both need to be read for a full perspective.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews