Customer Reviews

Blue Angels: A Portrait of Gold

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This book shows the reader scenes that we can only imagine, until Mr. Shul shared these beautiful images of the Blues with us. This book shows you the hard work and teamwork and constant concentration required to be one of the team. Takes us through an entire season with the team and shows how the team comes together through hard work and alot of trust in each other. These men are incredible pilots..... and they are also real true "Blue" Men in the finest sense of the word. Not to mention.......they have great senses of humor. Kept me laughing from start to end.

Brian Shul hits a homerun with his picture and fact-filled book about the Blue Angels. I'm doing research for a potential Blue Angels movie and Shul's first hand account of a Blue Angel show season is the most comprehensive book I have found yet. Shul spends an entire show season with the Blues and describes what its like to fly backseat in the heart pounding solo jet as well as the graceful but critical #4 slot position. In between pages and pages of important and interesting facts about the Blues, Shul also describes life off the flightline; right down to where and how the Blues workout and what they eat between debriefings and practice flights. Short of spending an entire year with the Blues yourself, Shul's "Portrait of Gold" is the closest you'll get! Great job Brian Shul.

The author spent the entire 1994 show season touring with the squadron. The book is full of awesome color photographs, many of which were taken from the back seat of the #7 jet during air shows. These kinds of photographs really bring home the extent of the precision that the Blue Angels fly with on a daily basis. The insights that Shul shares into the daily operations of the squadron make the reader feel like he is a part of the team. As a measuring stick of the depth of the work, I have had the privilege to know two Blue Angels pilots personally and have watched more than 100 Blue Angels performances in my life, yet this book was able to tell me facts about the Blue Angels I didn't know. I received the book as a Father's Day gift and read it cover to cover before going to bed that night. An absolute must-have for any true Blue Angels fan.

Just browsing through this book can give anyone a sense of what the Blue Angels are and how dedicated they are to their task at hand. But the author does more than depict the team. He has an acute sense of pride that beams from every page. This man has definitely lived the Blue Angels in this book and has successfully conveyed this to any reader willing to look beyond the beautiful pictures. This book will most cerainly bring back memories to those that have seen the Blue Angels perform, but it will also want to you go and see the Blues for yourself to experience all that is GOLD!

This book is a great story about the life, history, a about the Blue Angels in general. Brian Shul really takes you inside for a wild ride with the best in the Navy.

For those who maintain a keen interest in the history of America's premier military flight demonstration team, the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels, this is a must have volume for your collection. The photographs are outstanding as well as the narrative.

The tag line says it all; there simply is no better book on the Blue Angels. I've seen well over 200 performances and this book captures well the best flight demonstration team in the world. If you are a fan of the Blues, you must own this book.

This is without a doubt one of the best Aviation/Photography books on the market. Brian Shul does excellent work. This ranks up there with Sled DRIVER, THE UNTOUCHABLES, and SUMMER THUNDER.Unfortunately this title is no longer in print however I got a NEW copy through Amazon UK and it only cost me $47.00 and it got to me in California in about a week. Don't get ripped off by some of these market place stores trying to gouge you for $80.00 or more.