The Odessa File

By: Frederick Forsyth

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• ISBN: B002DEZB6E
• Release Date: January 1972
• Publisher: Viking Press

Customer Reviews

Peter Miller has a big scoop

We are told that the best stories come from people who write about what they know. Therefore, if this story seems insightful, it may be because Frederic Forsyth worked for Reuters reporting from London, and he wrote the story in hotels from Germany to Austria. He mixes the real, not-so-real, and the plausible to make you think "What if." I do not want to say much, as the fun is being surprised during the reading. However, compared to the movie, the book is much more in-depth with more characters and details. Many times, you think Forsyth is going off on some tangent and not focusing on the main story; then, without warning, the information makes sense later. One example to look for is the quick encounter with military maneuvers where he describes the tank sergeant. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It is the night of the John F. Kennedy assassination. Peter Miller, a freelance reporter in the process of chasing ambulances, is disappointed by the apparent suicide of a person of no consequence. Turns out the dead man is holocaust survivor Salomon Tauber; he left behind a diary of his experiences. Miller reads this diary and seems particularly interested in some details. This inspired him to do a story on what happened to prominent people in the "National Socialist German Workers' Party". His quest puts him at odds with many people, including an organization, O.D.E.S.S.A. (Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen), that was designed to help the SS escape justice. He also encounters independent agents out for their own agenda. Then there is the MOSSAD. Everyone accuses Miller of having his secret agenda and not just out for a story. Can they be right? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Some book covers show “Odessa” in lower case; this is just to be fancy. “ODESSA” is an organization and not a location name, so the title is never “Odessa” as in Russia or Texas. Be sure to also watch the movie with famous actors that fit the characters from the book. Naturally, a lot of information had to be cut out, and some sequences changed to fit the media. We still get the full speech from Eduard Roschmann (Maximilian Schell).