Charles Dickens; American Notes

Just started this on a whim and I'm glad that I did. I love the writing on this time period in America. I was pleasantly surprised to see the copious writing on the state of prisons and treatment of the mentally ill. This doesn't come close to DeTocqueville's observations, but it's the best that I've read after Democracy in America.

I remember reading it many years ago. Dickens was not a fan. This was exacerbated by the fact that there were no copyright laws in America at the time, and he felt he was being robbed blind by American publishers, who made a fortune on his books but didn't pay him a dime.