Lavi: The Lost Chapters - Preface

It might sound odd to hear but, after publishing a 450 page book on the story of Israel's Lavi fighter (due out in hardcover in January), there were still a great many things that I had to leave out. The original manuscript that I proposed spanned over 170,000 words in length – too long for the tastes of most publishers. I was asked to trim the work to 115,000 words or less. Editing the manuscript down was an excruciating process, and while I appreciate the publisher's financial exposure and motivation, it also meant that a lot of material had to be dropped from the published book.

This also presents, however, an opportunity for me to share some of the material that ended up on the cutting room floor during the editing process. I will be compiling some of these “lost chapters” into a stand-alone form during the coming weeks. I hope everyone enjoys.