Writing this book was a long journey: provoking, demanding, fraught with difficult decisions, but nonetheless enjoyable and exciting.
I was accompanied by friends, researchers, and academics, some from the beginning stages of gathering materials and studying them, and others from the actual writing. Their interest, their attentiveness, and their reactions to the information that was accumulating, the conclusions derived from the material and the manuscript that evolved, were of great help to me. This is my opportunity to thank them again. They were joined by many others, some whom I do not personally know, who reacted to the Hebrew version of the book published in September 2012, who contacted me to thank me, to comment, to express appreciation, and at times to share a personal experience or to add information.
In addition to the documentation collected in archives in Israel and in the United States, I received additional information and guidance on how to get this information in personal conversations and interviews. The people I approached cooperated willingly and to the best of their abilities and I am grateful for their contributions. Special thanks go to two of those who played central roles in the events of 1973: the head of the Mossad, General Zvika Zamir, and the head of military intelligence, General Eli Zeira. Both of them devoted long hours to discussing events with me, listened to the discoveries I presented, and related to them with serious consideration. During my discussions with them, I received the impression that, despite the well-known hostility between them, they still have a great deal in common, more than they are willing to admit. I continue to believe this despite the polemic that developed after the publication of the book in Israel.
The English version was prepared on an almost impossibly tight schedule. The animated discussion in Israel around the book and its findings, which found expression in the media, at academic conferences, and in lectures and meetings with interested audiences, was concurrent to the preparation of the English manuscript and created an additional burden for me. It would not have been possible to complete the project in time to mark the fortieth anniversary of the Yom Kippur War without the work of the wonderful, hard-working team of Barbara Doron in Israel and Bill Quandt, Helena Cobban, and Kimberly MacVaugh at Just World Books and Sarah Grey at Grey Editing in the United States. They deserve my thanks.
A special word of thanks to Bill Quandt, who listened, read, and initiated the publication of the English version of the book and who used his rich knowledge as a player in the events of that year and as an academic and researcher of the period in order to edit the book comprehensively and meticulously.
Another word of special thanks goes to Barbara Doron. Her excellent translation of the Hebrew manuscript is only one component of her contribution to the publication of the English version. Her wide knowledge of the book’s topic, her diligence, and her motivation to deal with the tight schedule of the editing process led to her being a full partner in all of the other aspects of the publication process.
It is difficult to describe how this journey would have taken place without the support of Mira, my wife, who enabled the research and its main figures to become part of our lives for a number of years. She listened, read, clarified, commented and encouraged. Noa, Alon and Roni, Dror and Nira joined her to complete the family environment and they took interest, participated, became expert in the material, debated, and supported. My thanks to you are not only for your assistance but also for the happiness you have given me.