Ungentle Goodnights

Christopher McKee's deeply researched book invites readers into the first U.S. Naval Asylum, which opened in Philadelphia in 1838. Through detailed personal narratives and vivid descriptions, McKee brings to life the asylum and its inhabitants from its opening to 1866. His study rests on a phenomenal base of meticulous archival research, and the fascinating information he presents enriches our understanding of the lives of U.S. sailors and marines in the mid-nineteenth century. Unfortunately, the author mutes the significance of his research, disappointing readers who expect the book to contribute to the scholarly discussion of military life, veterans’ affairs, and social welfare. McKee describes the asylum in fifteen short chapters that follow residents from admission to burial. Especially inviting is his first chapter, which walks readers through the asylum's physical spaces in the imagined company of a handicapped resident who was admitted in 1863. Succeeding chapters describe the administration and staff, institutional routines, daily work and leisure activities, alcohol abuse, physical sickness, and mental illness. His closing chapters discuss causes of mortality and the cemeteries in which residents were buried. Each chapter is built around lively narratives that admirably fulfill McKee's goal of “introduc[ing] these men who served their country long and well” (p. 284

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