The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday: Making Navy Seals

Let's face it, we don't have a clue - not unless we've been there. Most of the pictures we see, the stories in the press, they only tell half of it, if at all. We don't know what it takes to want to be one, a Navy SEAL, not really. And we don't have the slightest idea what hardships these men have to go through to be able to be called one, in the end. I needed stories and pictures for research I'm doing on a manuscript. I found a handful of great books on the Navy SEALs and Special Forces, but photographs - and I mean those that tell a story - they were hard to come by - which of course is logical. These guys don't wait around for someone to snap their picture. Then I found this. It's huge in every sense of the word. Richard D. Schoenberg sure knows what he's doing. Not only do you get tons of pages with just about anything you would want to know about Navy SEAL training. Richard won the trust of these young men so his portraits show you a depth that is hard to find, most certainly during the harshest training conditions imaginable. Sure, in the end we still don't really know what it's like cause we have not been there but with this we get as close as we can get. If you're interested in Navy SEAL training, this book should be in your hands and on your shelf.

I would recommend this book to anyone seriously wanting to get an idea of what it takes to become a Navy SEAL. This photo essay chronicles the journey of an actual BUD/s class from start to finish. While I have read other accounts, the pictorial evidence really clarifies some of what happens and why so many would-be SEALs drop out during the process. Only the most determined and mentally tough make it through these lengthy, grueling tests of strength and character. These men have my respect and my admiration.

Bravo to Richard for his hard work and dedication to the SEAL/SOF community. I was an instructor in BUDS during the making of Richards book and couldnt have asked for a more genuinely interested person to be around us. Richard has the unique ability of photographing his subjects in the most intimate situations, all while maintaining unshakeable rapport with instructors and students alike. Richard has given a much needed inside look (without going too far) at what these men go through during training. Hats off to Richard for a first class photo journal. BH

First of all, it's HUGE and BOLD! ... not wimpy on presentation. Very interesting narrative you don't normally see in photographer's projects; you can really follow these soldiers through their intriguing training process and their "becoming".