This new his­to­ry of the Nazis’ most noto­ri­ous con­cen­tra­tion and death camp begins with the ori­gins of Auschwitz as a camp for Pol­ish polit­i­cal pris­on­ers in 1940 and con­tin­ues through the present con­tro­ver­sies over how best to memo­ri­al­ize the world’s largest ceme­tery. Jour­nal­is­tic in style, the book is nonethe­less based on impec­ca­ble schol­ar­ship and on numer­ous inter­views with for­mer inmates (Pol­ish and Jew­ish) as well as for­mer camp guards. Rees does not shy away from ask­ing dif­fi­cult ques­tions and has thus pro­duced a tome that is both acces­si­ble and author­i­ta­tive. This book belongs in every Holo­caust col­lec­tion. Illus.; index; notes.