The Dream Machine

The Untold History of the Notorious V-22 Osprey

By: Richard Whittle

Narrated by: Kevin Foley

When the Marines decided to buy a helicopter-airplane hybrid "tiltrotor" called the V-22 Osprey, they saw it as their dream machine. The tiltrotor was the aviation equivalent of finding the Northwest Passage: an aircraft able to take off, land, and hover with the agility of a helicopter yet fly as fast and as far as an airplane. Many predicted it would reshape civilian aviation. The Marines saw it as key to their very survival.

By 2000, the Osprey was nine years late and billions of dollars over budget, bedeviled by technological hurdles, business rivalries, and an epic political battle over whether to build it at all. Opponents called it one of the worst boondoggles in Pentagon history. The Marines were eager to put it into service anyway. Then two crashes killed 23 Marines. They still refused to abandon the Osprey, even after the Corps' own proud reputation was tarnished by a national scandal over accusations that a commander had ordered subordinates to lie about the aircraft's problems.

Based on in-depth research and hundreds of interviews, The Dream Machine recounts the Marines' quarter-century struggle to get the Osprey into combat. Whittle takes the listener from the halls of the Pentagon and Congress to the war zone of Iraq, from the engineer's drafting table to the cockpits of the civilian and Marine pilots who risked their lives flying the Osprey - and sometimes lost them. He reveals the methods, motives, and obsessions of those who designed, sold, bought, flew, and fought for the tiltrotor. These stories, including never-before-published eyewitness accounts of the crashes that made the Osprey notorious, not only chronicle an extraordinary chapter in Marine Corps history but also provide a fascinating look at a machine that could still revolutionize air travel.

©2010 James Richard Whittle (P)2010 Tantor

Critic reviews

“ The Dream Machine expertly weaves telling technical details with heart-stopping human drama into a riveting, fast-paced history of one of the military's most controversial war machines.” ( The New York Times)

Fascinating

It is difficult to understand that a single machine required so long to be developed. This is an epic story and is told by a master.

Osprey instructor

Good book but it's more about Spivey than the Osprey. Almost half of what went on when I was working at Bell solving the top 5 Osprey problems were not even mentioned in the book.

history of V-22 Osprey

Appreciated reading about this subject, but the book's date of publication leaves out much of the story SINCE the date when the V22 was finally approved for military use. Updated history would be interesting. Also. fighter jets crash frequently, unrelated to combat, yet there is no book outlining its crash history!

Another must read for aviation buffs.

Whittle’s style of reporting fact through a more narrative style makes his books read like the best fiction, though they are clearly heavily researched and documented. This and his book on the Predator drone development are seminal and are must-reads for military aviation fans.

Innovation runs into government

The book is about one aircraft. But author Richard Whittle provides insight into how government (bureaucrats and officers, processes, budgeting) and private companies and their executives affect one product, a military aircarft. The books gets into the Pentagon, Bell and Boeing, but is driven by key civilian and military players in the development of new aviation technology. Importantly, Whittle shows how key decisions trickle down, and can mean life and death to the lives of our servicemen and women.

Great book interesting subject

Interesting subject a true story of persevirence agaist all ods it goes on to show that some times revolusionary things like the V22 Osprey or the digital camera take a long time to become every day things

Great story if you're in to Government Procurement

Great story if you're in to Government procurement and aviation. The V-22 is a fascinating subject dating back to the early 1980s.

Well Written Book on the V-22

Would you listen to The Dream Machine again? Why?

No, I wouldn’t listen again. The book lacks a depth to its writing, it’s very biographical and informational. The stories that are included are good and entertaining, but they’re not absolutely captivating.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Dream Machine?

The best part about this book is that it details the post-capture phase of the V-22 program, and let’s the reader in on how the V-22 came to be.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, it wasn’t a fun read, but that’s mainly because I had to read it for work.