Antonia Hylton's 'Madness' is a profound dive into the dark history of Crownsville Hospital, one of the last segregated asylums in the United States. With a journalist's precision and a personal touch, Hylton documents the 93-year saga of a place conceived in the era of Jim Crow, where twelve Black men were its first patients, involuntary architects of their own prison. The book explores the individual stories of those who lived and worked within its walls, set against the backdrop of America's broader racial battles. Hylton intertwines tales of systematic oppression with her family's personal experiences, exposing the scars left by a system that often blurred the lines between sickness and criminality. 'Madness' is both an archival treasure and a contemporary challenge to understand the deeply rooted issues within our mental healthcare system and the legacy of slavery upon it.