Flight of the Lavi: Inside A U.S.-Israeli Crisis (Putnam's British aircraft) [Hardcover]

Dov Zakheim (Author), Dov Zakehim (Author), Caspar Weinberger (Foreword)

Book Description

Series: Putnam's British aircraft | Publication Date: October 1996

This extraordinary book takes an inside look at how the United States and Israel influence each other's decisions and politics. Zakheim, an American Orthodox Jew--ironically accused of being a "traitor to Israel"--uncovers a major crisis between the U.S. and Israel and deftly tells the eye-opening story of their battle over the development of Israel's own jet fighter, the Lavi. of photos.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The Lavi was a new generation of high-performance jet aircraft that, in the mid-1980s, was supposed to be developed and manufactured in Israel with U.S. financial support. A great deal of prestige and money was at stake in the project, which embodied many of the commitments and expectations at the foundation of American-Israeli relations. But as development costs increased and doubts arose as to whether the Lavi would be the supreme warplane it was meant to be, the U.S. cooled to the project. As deputy undersecretary of defense for planning and resources during the Reagan administration, Zakheim was at the center of the development of the project?and of the U.S. steps to shut it down without unduly straining relations with Israel. His position was made even more difficult because he was, as he puts it, a "practicing Orthodox Jew." Here, Zakheim gives a thorough account of this complex, important and high-stakes affair, but his revelatory report isn't just for policy wonks. He covers economic issues such as how information on costs is gathered and costs are estimated; explores the political aspects of the project in both nations, as well as its national security considerations; and delves into the informal, unofficial side of international diplomacy. With his exceptional grasp of this story, and through his clear portraits of the major players in it, Zakheim shows readers that government is more than just politics.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Beginning in the early 1980s, Israel sought to develop a jet fighter aircraft for its defense arsenal. The research and development for the plan, however, was to come from the United States as a part of its military assistance package to Israel. This is the story of the high-level discussions and domestic political issues?in both countries?that led, ultimately, to the cancellation of the project. Also described is a sometimes intense personality battle between Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger and Israeli Prime Minister Itzhak Rabin that underlay the negotiations between the two countries. The author was heavily involved in the discussions at the highest level in the Department of Defense and thus is in a unique position to provide a useful commentary. Strongly recommended for academic and larger public library collections.?Sanford R. Silverburg, Catawba Coll., Salisbury, N.C.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 277 pages
• Publisher: Brassey's Inc (October 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1574880659
• ISBN-13: 978-1574880656
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,740,821 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Book Written by Accountants, for Accountants, December 15, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Flight of the Lavi: Inside A U.S.-Israeli Crisis (Putnam's British aircraft) (Hardcover)

If you are an aviation enthusiast, looking for the story behind this fighter plane's abortive development, then you have come to the wrong place. This book deals only incidentally with the Lavi fighter program. It could better be described as "How a group of accountants, with no knowledge of aircraft or combat experience, conspired to shut down an airplane development program that they didn't understand." What disturbs me most about this account is that the author and his team made no attempt to understand what the Lavi was, what aspects made it unique, or why it was being built. As "alternatives" to the Lavi, they offered up the F-15, F-16, F/A-18, F-20, and the Harrier, as if all of the above, radically different airplanes, were equivalent to each other, equally suited to the same role and mission. Since when would any air force buy a Harrier that wanted an F-16? Or vice versa? Not all pegs fit a round hole. I happen to have ordered an early copy of this book, and in the process discovered to my chagrin that the publisher's original title for this book was not "Flight of the Lavi", but "Stop the Lavi", a title that is much more in line with the author's true aims. What emerges from this book is not a picture of what the Lavi fighter was, or why it was built, but rather a narrow tale of political intrigue as told from the point of view of one of the participants. If the author had spent as much time attempting to understand what the Lavi was, as he does attempting to impress his readers with how many times he met Yitzhak Rabin (who was later to be assassinated as Prime Minister of Israel), the outcome of this story may have been entirely different. Sadly, the full story of the Lavi has not yet been told, and is certainly not to be found between these pages.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT BOOK, February 27, 2001

By 

hershal vest (ISRAEL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Flight of the Lavi: Inside A U.S.-Israeli Crisis (Putnam's British aircraft) (Hardcover)

THIS A VERY GOOD BOOK IT HAS EVERYTHING ABOUT THE LAVI AND NOT ONLY THAT IT IS THE BEST WAY 4 U TO FIND OUT HOW THE GOVERMENT WORKS BUT NO PHOTOS.I WOULD RATE IT 5 IF IT WOULD HAVE PHOTOS.