Later this month, MIT will publish Asylum: Inside the Closed World of State Mental Hospitals, a book by photographer Christopher Payne that documents (stunningly, as far as I can tell) the decaying institutions that were once devoted to caring for the mentally ill.

Oliver Sacks’ introductory essay has been published in a different form in the New York Review of Books. It’s only available online to subscribers, but Jenny Davidson transcribed a few paragraphs to share.

The Book Bench offers a slide show of six photos.