Description
"Enthralling; it is well worth the trip." --New York Journal of Books
Conceived as the most modern, humane incarceration facility the world had ever seen, New York's Blackwell's Island, site of a lunatic asylum, two prisons, an almshouse, and a number of hospitals, quickly became, in the words of a visiting Charles Dickens, "a lounging, listless madhouse." Digging through city records, newspaper articles, and archival reports, Stacy Horn tells a gripping narrative through the voices of the island's inhabitants. We also hear from the era's officials, reformers, and journalists, including the celebrated undercover reporter Nellie Bly. And we follow the extraordinary Reverend William Glenney French as he ministers to Blackwell's residents, battles the bureaucratic mazes of the Department of Correction and a corrupt City Hall, testifies at salacious trials, and in his diary wonders about man's inhumanity to his fellow man. Damnation Island shows how far we've come in caring for the least fortunate among us--and reminds us how much work still remains.
Author: Stacy Horn
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Published: 05/14/2019
Pages: 320
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.50lbs
Size: 8.20h x 5.40w x 0.80d
ISBN13: 9781616209353
ISBN10: 1616209356
BISAC Categories:
- History | United States | State & Local | Middle Atlantic (DC, DE, MD,
- Social Science | Poverty & Homelessness
- Social Science | Penology
Conceived as the most modern, humane incarceration facility the world had ever seen, New York's Blackwell's Island, site of a lunatic asylum, two prisons, an almshouse, and a number of hospitals, quickly became, in the words of a visiting Charles Dickens, "a lounging, listless madhouse." Digging through city records, newspaper articles, and archival reports, Stacy Horn tells a gripping narrative through the voices of the island's inhabitants. We also hear from the era's officials, reformers, and journalists, including the celebrated undercover reporter Nellie Bly. And we follow the extraordinary Reverend William Glenney French as he ministers to Blackwell's residents, battles the bureaucratic mazes of the Department of Correction and a corrupt City Hall, testifies at salacious trials, and in his diary wonders about man's inhumanity to his fellow man. Damnation Island shows how far we've come in caring for the least fortunate among us--and reminds us how much work still remains.
Author: Stacy Horn
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Published: 05/14/2019
Pages: 320
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.50lbs
Size: 8.20h x 5.40w x 0.80d
ISBN13: 9781616209353
ISBN10: 1616209356
BISAC Categories:
- History | United States | State & Local | Middle Atlantic (DC, DE, MD,
- Social Science | Poverty & Homelessness
- Social Science | Penology
About the Author
Stacy Horn is the author of five previous nonfiction books, including Imperfect Harmony. Mary Roach has hailed her for "combining awe-fueled curiosity with topflight reporting skills." Horn's commentaries have been heard on NPR's All Things Considered, and she is the founder of the social network Echo. She lives in New York City. Her website is stacyhorn.com.