Lefschetz pencils, branched covers and symplectic invariants by Denis Auroux and Ivan Smith (2004 preprint; 2003 lectures)

Author preprint: arxiv.org/abs/math/0401021

Full text: arxiv.org/pdf/math/0401021

Based on CIME lectures in Cetraro, September 2003. Sections 1–2: symplectic background, Lefschetz pencils and fibrations, local models, blowup of base points, and algebraic generic pencils. The date on the consulted arXiv version is 4 January 2004; this is distinct from the later published chapter.