Nice Jewish Boys Don't Fly Airplanes

A sharp, funny, and heartfelt memoir about defying expectations—and finding your own flight path.

Follow Your Dreams

He was disgraced and shamed by his family for leaving the illustrious and prestigious profession of a wholesale liquor salesman and lowering himself to the pitiful existence of a professional pilot for the largest airline in the world.

Why? Because NICE JEWISH BOYS DON’T FLY AIRPLANES.

Nice Jewish Boys don’t fly airplanes is a book about my personal journey to find freedom in the sky! It’s about making one’s way to their final destination while enjoying the journey.

It’s about muting the background noise and focusing on your inner voice. It’s about having the conviction of following your dreams no matter how unreachable they may seem at times.

I stayed the course despite my family’s objections, soared over obstacles to find freedom in the sky.

Irwin Wenzel grew up in Queens, New York, in a family where expectations were clear and tradition mattered.

It was the kind of stereotypical New York Jewish household that could’ve passed for a sitcom—just without the laugh track.

He went on to become a commercial airline captain, building a career in aviation that took him far beyond anything originally imagined for him.

Nice Jewish Boys Don’t Fly Airplanes is his debut book.

Flying was the easy part.

The decision to become a pilot was just the beginning.

What followed was everything that came with it—pushback, doubt, and the kind of choices that don’t feel easy when you’re living them.

The cockpit was the destination.
Getting there is the story.

STAY TUNED.