Ten Days in a Mad-House

 Ten Days in a Mad-House by Nellie Bly, 160 pages

This book, originally published in 1887, is an impressive work of investigative journalism. Nellie Bly, working for Joseph Pulitzer at the New York World, agreed to go undercover at Blackwell Island, a public asylum for poor women. Bly undertook this task despite knowing very little about the insane, which turned out to be a nonissue when it proved startlingly easy to be admitted. Once she was inside she found horrifying levels of abuse and mistreatment, as well as many women who weren't any crazier than she was. 

Despite being nearly 150 years old, this book was very readable and engaging. The last chapter of this book mentioned that these articles got a million dollars designated to improve mental health services in New York, and reading it I can see why it had that sort of impact. It is also really interesting to see this older version of investigative journalism. Bly has huge amounts of both courage and compassion, and both elevate this to a classic work of nonfiction definitely worth the read.