This book is not about the concentration camp. Rather, it is about the town of Auschwitz/Oswiecim, its surrounding region, and the 'Germanization' and politics of the occupying Nazi regime. It is full of interesting nuggets of information that I was previously unaware of, such as the rich Jewish history in the local area, and the fact that parts of the concentration camp were in fact built on expropriated Jewish property. Occasionally confusing, as it is organized thematically, and so skips back and forth chronologically a bit, but an excellent read.