4 ms·

The Rickover Corpus: A digital archive of Admiral Rickover's speeches and memos

78 points by stmw 1y ago

Animats 1y ago
"Some thoughts on the presidency" [1] (The site's index dates this to 1952, but it mentions "the events of 1974.") [1] https://rickover-corpus.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/Some+Thoughts+on+the+Presidency.pdf https://rickover-corpus.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/Some+Thou...
- uncletaco 1y ago
  The Nixon memo is dated for 1980 from after Nixon was president.
- andrewl 1y ago
  I'm two pages in, and it is excellent.
  - emmelaich 1y ago
    Quotables in in every paragraph!
  - ndileas 1y ago
    There's a lot of timeless, good analysis. But there's also somewhat dated concerns (like the energy crisis stuff) where it's clear that he's responding to the issue du jour.
- emmelaich 1y ago
  Yes, it mentions the energy crisis so dates it to late 70s at least. Also President Reagan, so after 1981. Probably well after.
kreelman 1y ago
Ah, the "Kindly Old Gentleman"... Though a very difficult man to get on with... He did champion the correct building of the first nuclear subs.
- CamperBob2 1y ago
  Yep, a complex, flawed character. Unquestionably the right person for that particular job, though. He was Mr. "Failure is Not an Option" years before Gene Kranz.
andrewl 1y ago
I've read a few articles about him, but I never heard him speak. I just pulled this up, and I find it fascinating: https://taproot.com/rickover-60-minutes-interview/ https://taproot.com/rickover-60-minutes-interview/
- xtiansimon 1y ago
  I’ve known some lovable @$$#ol3$ who have the rare amalgamation of talent, self-possession, misanthropy. Their successes seem unrelated to their persons. Purely anecdotal, but don’t they all have difficult parents…
thomassmith65 1y ago
Unless the one person truly responsible can be identified when something goes wrong, then no one has been really responsible Ah, it's Apple's DRI (Directly Responsible Individual) designation!
- stmw 1y ago
  It is always interesting how such principles are much older than our current examples!
acidburnNSA 1y ago
Truly amazing resource. Thanks to the folks funding this, and doing the scans.
- ripe 1y ago
  From the website: This project was compiled and digitized by Charles Yang under the Center for Industrial Strategy, with assistance from Jacks Flenniken.
  - stmw 1y ago
    Some credit also given to the US Naval Academy archivists (usna.edu), and whoever preserved his files to begin with.
brcmthrowaway 1y ago
Never heard of this guy - Nimitz seems better
- chrisg23 1y ago
  Different domains. Admiral Rickover focused on the nuclear propulsion aspect of the navy. Its like comparing the CEO of a company with one of the heads of engineering.
RobGR 1y ago
I found this a particularly good read: https://rickovercorpus.org/?file=https%3A%2F%2Frickover-corpus.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2FFreedom%2Band%2Bthe%2BKnowledge%2BGap.pdf https://rickovercorpus.org/?file=https%3A%2F%2Frickover-corp...
kentbrew 1y ago
This sounds like the title of a Charlie Stross novel.

78 points by stmw 1y ago

"Some thoughts on the presidency" [1] (The site's index dates this to 1952, but it mentions "the events of 1974.") [1] https://rickover-corpus.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/Some+Thoughts+on+the+Presidency.pdf https://rickover-corpus.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/Some+Thou...

uncletaco 1y ago
The Nixon memo is dated for 1980 from after Nixon was president.
andrewl 1y ago
I'm two pages in, and it is excellent.
- emmelaich 1y ago
  Quotables in in every paragraph!
- ndileas 1y ago
  There's a lot of timeless, good analysis. But there's also somewhat dated concerns (like the energy crisis stuff) where it's clear that he's responding to the issue du jour.
emmelaich 1y ago
Yes, it mentions the energy crisis so dates it to late 70s at least. Also President Reagan, so after 1981. Probably well after.

kreelman 1y ago

Ah, the "Kindly Old Gentleman"... Though a very difficult man to get on with... He did champion the correct building of the first nuclear subs.

CamperBob2 1y ago
Yep, a complex, flawed character. Unquestionably the right person for that particular job, though. He was Mr. "Failure is Not an Option" years before Gene Kranz.

andrewl 1y ago

I've read a few articles about him, but I never heard him speak. I just pulled this up, and I find it fascinating: https://taproot.com/rickover-60-minutes-interview/ https://taproot.com/rickover-60-minutes-interview/

xtiansimon 1y ago
I’ve known some lovable @$$#ol3$ who have the rare amalgamation of talent, self-possession, misanthropy. Their successes seem unrelated to their persons. Purely anecdotal, but don’t they all have difficult parents…

thomassmith65 1y ago

Unless the one person truly responsible can be identified when something goes wrong, then no one has been really responsible Ah, it's Apple's DRI (Directly Responsible Individual) designation!

stmw 1y ago
It is always interesting how such principles are much older than our current examples!

acidburnNSA 1y ago

Truly amazing resource. Thanks to the folks funding this, and doing the scans.

ripe 1y ago
From the website: This project was compiled and digitized by Charles Yang under the Center for Industrial Strategy, with assistance from Jacks Flenniken.
- stmw 1y ago
  Some credit also given to the US Naval Academy archivists (usna.edu), and whoever preserved his files to begin with.

brcmthrowaway 1y ago

Never heard of this guy - Nimitz seems better

chrisg23 1y ago
Different domains. Admiral Rickover focused on the nuclear propulsion aspect of the navy. Its like comparing the CEO of a company with one of the heads of engineering.

RobGR 1y ago

I found this a particularly good read: https://rickovercorpus.org/?file=https%3A%2F%2Frickover-corpus.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2FFreedom%2Band%2Bthe%2BKnowledge%2BGap.pdf https://rickovercorpus.org/?file=https%3A%2F%2Frickover-corp...

kentbrew 1y ago

This sounds like the title of a Charlie Stross novel.