We are told that the best stories come from people that 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. Manny times you think Forsyth is going off on some tangent and not focusing on the main story; then with out warning the information makes sense later on. One example to look for is the quick encounter with military maneuvers where he describes the tank sergeant.
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It is the night of the John F. Kennedy assassination. Peter Miller, 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 inspires him to do a story on what happed to prominent people that where 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 own secret agenda and not just out for a story. Can they be right?
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Be sure to also watch the movie with famous actors that actually fit the characters from the book. Naturally a lot of information had to cut out and some sequence changes to fit the media. We still get the full speech from Eduard Roschmann (Maximilian Schell)

The Odessa File Starring: Jon Voight, Maximilian Schell [UK Import]