Dear Reader,
With the writing of my first suspense novel Blind Mission (a topical political thriller), it was clear to me that I would write popular literature – but on a high level. I hope that my books offer the reader a slightly different perspective on various fields, and cause him to think a little differently than he originally thought, perhaps, before he took them in hand.
Writing a book in which the author wishes to present different ideas and theories outside conventional thinking takes a long time. My second book, Basic Code required me to examine scientific and philosophical theories and methods over a long period of time, and that was before I wrote a single word. I needed to learn and understand the subject in the meantime, and work out all the details before I could make use of them.
In order to enhance the reader’s experience as well as his empathy with the story’s characters, I try to place the reader within the story’s timeline and at certain crossroads so he can check what he himself would have done if put in the characters’ shoes. When trying to shed light on a certain issue from another perspective, one must be very careful of the fine line that separates presenting a different point of view with that of outright preaching. Attempting to illuminate a subject from a different angle is one thing, but trying to change someone else’s opinion by way of preaching is another matter, offensive, and not worthy in my eyes.
It is clear to me that there will be readers who will offhandedly dismiss the main premise of Basic Code. It is precisely for this reason that I ask you to devote some thought to the following sentence:
It has always been the case that sometimes the most decisive and absolute truths in consensus are revealed to be complete nonsense – and vice versa.
I decided to write my third book, Don’t Dare Die Unprepared – The most important book you will ever own, after a close friend of mine unexpectedly passed away. This friend did not leave behind any special instructions, or organized information, for his loved ones to reorganize family matters. The family was swept into a giant whirlwind of problems – big and small. Each problem needed to be dealt with and resolved, and everything together demanded an ongoing daily struggle over an extended period – and at a most difficult time.
I asked myself over and over: Why do intelligent, normal people – who worry so much about their loved ones, who are successful in their careers and in managing their home and family – overlook the need to organize their affairs and, as such, endanger the economic and future welfare of not only themselves, but of their dear ones who are left behind?
Disorganized conduct in today’s modern era is disastrous – but totally unnecessary.
Most people cannot even conceive of the range of different matters that must be dealt with in their day-to-day lives, or which will need to be dealt with once they are gone. Because I myself am a ‘yekke’ in personality and in behavior, I came to the conclusion that people are in need of a guide (a sort of “guide to the perplexed”) to help them organize the present, prepare for the future, and offer answers to the many questions that people are afraid to even ask.
Although one shouldn’t ‘toot one’s own horn’, I think that my book, Don’t Dare Die Unprepared, is mandatory for every home, and is the most important gift that you give to yourselves and to those dear to you – even though it is clear to me that few would prefer as such. What was it that sports car manufacturer Ferdinand Porsche said? “We produce cars that no one needs, but that everyone wants to have.” I, on the other hand, have written a book that, in my opinion, everyone may not want – but that everyone needs.
Yours,
Avichai Schmidt
