A review by gatun
Asylum: Inside the Closed World of State Mental Hospitals by Christopher Payne
5.0
Oliver Sacks wrote the forward on Asylum. He discusses his time working in an asylum and watching the changes that led to most asylums being closed. Christopher Payne has beautiful and heartbreaking photographs of asylums all over the country. The pictures conveyed an overwhelming sadness. With so many of these asylums, which are historic buildings, being torn down, Payne felt the need to document them as much as possible.
I strongly recommend this book if you have any interest in the history of mental health in the United States. The text sections by Sacks and Payne are relatively short; the photographs comprise the majority of this book. Personally, I found myself drawn back to look at them multiple times. This will be a book that I purchase in print format.
I strongly recommend this book if you have any interest in the history of mental health in the United States. The text sections by Sacks and Payne are relatively short; the photographs comprise the majority of this book. Personally, I found myself drawn back to look at them multiple times. This will be a book that I purchase in print format.