This is the captivating story behind Schindlers List, the Booker Prizewinning book and the Academy Awardwinning Spielberg film. Keneally tells the tale of the unlikely encounter that propelled him to write about Oskar Schindler and of the impact of his extraordinary account on people around the world. Thomas Keneally met Leopold Poldek Pfefferberg, the owner of a Beverly Hills luggage shop, in 1981. Poldek, a Polish Jew and a Holocaust survivor, had a tale he wanted the world to know. Charming, charismatic, and persistent, he convinced Keneally to relate the incredible story of the all-drinking, all-screwing, all-black-marketeering Nazi, Oskar Schindler. But to me he was Jesus Christ. Searching for Schindler is the engrossing chronicle of Keneallys pursuit of one of historys most fascinating and paradoxical heroes. Traveling throughout the United States, Germany, Israel, Poland, and Austria, Keneally and Poldek interviewed people who had known Schindler and uncovered their indelible memories of the Holocaust. Keneallys powerful narrative rose quickly to the top of bestseller lists. Steven Spielbergs magnificent film adaptation went on to fulfill Poldeks dream of winning an Oscar for Oskar. (Keneallys anecdotes about Spielberg, Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, and other cast members will delight film buffs.) Written with candor and humor, Seaching for Schindler is an intimate look at Keneallys growth as a writer and the enormous success of his portrait of Oskar Schindler.