Author SusanJ. Eischeid spent years writing the book "Mistress of Life & Death: The Dark Journey of Maria Mandl." We peer into the frightening and cruel mind of the head overseer at Auschwitz's women's camp during WWII. Mandl left her good, anti-Nazi family to become one of the most hated and feared leaders in the Third Reich. What led her to assist in the slaughter of thousands? Why did she join the political party that her loving family despised?

Susan conducted hundreds of interviews, traveled thousands of miles, and relentlessly researched to tell the gripping, complex story of a woman who played classical piano after walking children to the gas chambers. The book details the entire life of Maria Mandl, from birth in a lovely small town to death in a prison. Susan J. Eischeid has created one of the best nonfiction books covering Ho ...