Into the Blue: Uniforms of the USAF, 1947 to the Present, Vol. 2 - Distinctive Uniforms, Formal and Informal

I purchased this volume because it was the follow-on to volume 1, and would contain information on uniforms not commonly worn or seen beyond many special functions in the Air Force. It is an outstanding record of formal/semi-formal, ceremonial and evening dress, along with some of the functional uniforms for the police force, flight nurses and other distinctive uniforms. If your interest doesn't extend beyond the service dress uniforms, then this volume may not interest you, for everyone else interested in other uniforms worn by Air Force members since 1947 this volume will provide you with much more information than from any other source I have come across in the past. I have a small collection of insignia and uniforms, and I was able to identify an item based on information in this book. This alone made it worth the cost. I am eagerly awaiting the third volume which is said to cover field uniforms (fatigues, BDU, etc). If you are interested in the history of United States Air Force uniforms, this volume and volume one will be very useful to your research.

Very well done and lots of good quality photographs. This book covers a lot of ground on subjects that are not well covered elsewhere.On the negative side the book could have used an editor. Some sentences are duplicated in a following paragraph. Photo captions are in a very small typeface and many photos do not have captions at all, In at lease one case the same caption is used twice to describe two different photos while one photo on the same page doesn't have a caption.As of this writing, I haven't finished reading the book. Considering the sheer volume or material covered, the negatives I've mentioned do not detract very much in the overall appeal of this volume and I'm anxious to see additions to this series. I would highly recommend this book ro anyone who has an interest in the history of U.S. Air Force uniforms and insignia.

This is one of the greatest USAF uniform histories ever. The main concern in Volume 2 is Air Police/Security Forces.

This 2nd in a trilogy of seminal gatherings by well qualified author Lance Young builds upon the well received Volume One to present less seen, but thus, more fascinating uniforms over the years since the creation of a seperate Air Force in 1947.Each page is a snapshot in time over the 66 years of coverage where a veteran airman can re-explore his or her era of memoriesas well as the roots proceeding that time and the transitions in the years beyond. So fascinating is this five star volume that Idevoured it all in only five evenings.While e-mailing my congratulations to the author, I was thrilled to learn from him that work on the third volume centering uponfatique uniforms is nearly complete. 5 stars.- Jim Medin

It was also worth the wait for this book. The area of military uniform collecting is small, and books on the USAF uniforms are few, the two published in this series are the best I have found so far for the various uniforms of the USAF. I have an interest, if only to have information on the uniforms I wore and on the ones I have kept from my military career. What I like best about the books are that WOMENS' uniforms are covered, going back to the U.S. Army Air Corps days.

I was eagerly waiting for Vol 2 in this series. I'm totally disappointed with the coverage of this volume. A whole chapter dedicated to work out clothing! Seriously! But minimal coverage of Air Force Academy uniforms, no mention of of AFROTC or OTS! The few pictures of Academy uniforms were an after thought. Yet somehow the authors saw fit to include several pictures of President Bush chest bumping an Academy graduate, what did that have to do with uniforms? This was a very expensive book and a total waste! Sadly!

This book has the same problem as the first. Nothing but dress blues again. How much time can you spend on dress blues when the majority of the USAF troops actually worked for a living. Probably only wore dress blues twice a year. The author needed to get out of the office, and see the majority of the Air Force that revolved around keeping airplanes in the air.

This a classic case of good news - bad news. The good news is that it is the only real work on the subject of lesser known USAF uniforms. Sadly, it is also the only one, which leaves the reader little choice beyond Into The Blue. The author has the same dysfunctional organizational style used in volume one. He has no correlation between the illustrations and text, leaving the reader to hunt around to make sense of the book. Realizing that the author was a member of the security forces, and rightly proud of that fact, there was way too much space devoted to that particular group for my liking. Accept the book for what it is, but also realize the shortcomings it has.