Wasn't I the Lucky One [Paperback]

John A. Fahey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2000

During World War II Navy airships escorted over 89,000 merchant ships. Not one of these vessels was sunk or damaged by a German U-boat. Airships flew under all weather conditions. They were dependable and effective in anti-submarine wartime operations. After the war Navy airships flew air-sea rescue, hunter-killer operations from aircraft carriers, and early warning missions with great success until June 1962 when the Navy's lighter-than-air activities were terminated. Wasn't I the Lucky One with 45 photographs presents a first hand, on-the-scene, account of this period by the author, a former Navy combat airship commander.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

As a young Naval Airship Aviator, John Fahey was a combat airship command pilot during World War II. After the war he flew airships in hunter-killer operations from aircraft carriers. His flight crew was the first to be qualified in airship night carrier landings. A Russian linguist during the Cold War, he was assigned to the Russian army as an American Liaison Officer behind the Iron Curtain in East Germany and played a key role in the Berlin Wall crisis.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: B & J Books1 (November 2000)
• ISBN-10: 0967953014
• ISBN-13: 978-0967953014
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,532,781 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting History with humor., October 17, 2011

By 

Tyler Davis (Virginia Beach, Virginia. USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Wasn't I the Lucky One (Paperback)

I have read his other two books; Licensed to Spy, and The Cremlin Kapers and loved them but cant say the same for this. My main annoyance with this book is the numerous fitness reports of his courier all through this book. You read each one between stories hoping not miss anything but you might as well skip over them all. For those who do not know fitness reports are like the report cards in grade school but all written. Its cool that he is proud of his exceptional courier in the Navy but publishing all the nice fitness reports is a bit of a brag.
My second gripe with this book is the tons of spelling mistakes. My guess is that it is because it is written by Fahey himself because due to his intense training he became more skilled in Russian than English. It does not excuse not having someone proof-read it before it went to the printers though. I don't know how that slipped through. It wont stop you from understanding any of the book but its disturbing.
Other than that it does have the entertaining and informative chapters like his other books but not as much.
The best thing about this book is the history you learn about the Navy's Lighter Than Air program. I had no Idea how important it was to the WW2 war effort.

If you want his unique and interesting accounts ans stories of the Navy's Lighter Than Air program then go for it but if not I highly recommend his other two books over this one. The other two are easier to relate to interest wise and overall more packed with good historical stories and humor.