Rush

Revolution, Madness, and Benjamin Rush, the Visionary Doctor Who Became a Founding Father

By: Stephen Fried

Narrated by: John H. Mayer

The monumental life of Benjamin Rush, medical pioneer and one of our most provocative and unsung Founding Fathers

Finalist for the George Washington Book Prize

American Library Association Notable Book of the Year

By the time he was 30, Dr. Benjamin Rush had signed the Declaration of Independence, edited Common Sense, toured Europe as Benjamin Franklin’s protégé, and become John Adams’s confidant, and was soon to be appointed Washington’s surgeon general. And as with the greatest Revolutionary minds, Rush was only just beginning his role in 1776 in the American experiment. As the new republic coalesced, he became a visionary writer and reformer; a medical pioneer whose insights and reforms revolutionized the treatment of mental illness; an opponent of slavery and prejudice by race, religion, or gender; an adviser to, and often the physician of, America’s first leaders; and “the American Hippocrates.” Rush reveals his singular life and towering legacy, installing him in the pantheon of our wisest and boldest Founding Fathers.

Praise for Rush

“Entertaining.... Benjamin Rush has been undeservedly forgotten. In medicine...[and] as a political thinker, he was brilliant.” (The New Yorker)

“Superb.... Reminds us eloquently, abundantly, what a brilliant, original man Benjamin Rush was, and how his contributions to...the United States continue to bless us all.” (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

“Perceptive... [a] readable reassessment of Rush’s remarkable career.” (The Wall Street Journal)

“An amazing life and a fascinating book.” (CBS This Morning)

“Fried makes the case, in this comprehensive and fascinating biography, that renaissance man Benjamin Rush merits more attention.... Fried portrays Rush as a complex, flawed person and not just a list of accomplishments;...a testament to the authorial thoroughness and insight that will keep readers engaged until the last page.” (Publishers Weekly - starred review)

“[An] extraordinary and underappreciated man is reinstated to his rightful place in the canon of civilizational advancement in Rush.... Had I read Fried’s Rush before the year’s end, it would have crowned my favorite books of 2018...[a] superb biography.” (Brain Pickings)

©2018 Stephen Fried (P)2018 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Benjamin Rush is best known as the founding father the more famous founders wrote to. Stephen Fried, in this fascinating biography, shows us why we need to reconsider, and pay more attention to a man whose talents rivaled Franklin’s, opinions equaled Adams’s, and facility with language approached Jefferson’s.” (H.W. Brands, author of The First American and Heirs of the Founders)

“The best books are full of surprises. Rush has more of them than any historical biography I have read in ages. It is vast and sumptuous and brings to life Founding Father Benjamin Rush in full technicolor. Too long ignored, Rush’s varied and mercurial brilliance puts him smack in the company of such figures as Adams and Jefferson and Washington and Hamilton with one exception: He is more interesting than any of them. He revolutionized medicine. He revolutionized healthcare. He revolutionized life. Fried draws it all out with his usual perfect pitch of reportage and writing. What a grand feast and feat.” (Buzz Bissinger, author of Friday Night Lights and A Prayer for the City)

"An important and fascinating account of a relatively neglected yet critical Founding Father. Benjamin Rush - Surgeon General of the Continental Army, signer of the Declaration of Independence, and Jefferson's choice for medical advisor to the Lewis and Clark Expedition - is also acknowledged as the Father of American Psychiatry for his study and treatment of the mentally ill. Stephen Fried brings to life Rush's extraordinary political and medical contributions, as well as the times in which he lived." (Kay Redfield Jamison, author of An Unquiet Mind and Robert Lowell: Setting the River on Fire)

Very interesting biography of a little known signer of the Declaration.

A very well researched and well read story. I primarily knew if him through “Rush’s Pills” so it was entertaining to learn more about him. The book got a bit long winded with a very long Epilogue and an extremely long Afterword.

Enlightening review of early American history

Many stories between stories along with the rest of the story on the founding of our nation, medicine and education. Benjamin Rush appears more accomplished than Ben Franklin without Franklin's less than moral trists.

Enjoyed listening to the writing style of the period. Learned about a founding father unknown to me

Could have been a little shorter by leaving out some of the detail on his children.

It's a good book.

I really enjoyed learning about Benjamin Rush. There are many interesting details that the author brought out, but I think he made a really good characterization of Rush.

One point of disagreement that I have is the author's premise that Rush supported the separation of church and state. He made this commenting several times, but never provided direct evidence to support this claim, especially as we understand it today. Rush was one of the most religious founding fathers, so to think he didn't want churches influencing government at all didn't match with what we know of him.

Also, this was read too slow for my liking. I had to speed it up to enjoy it.

Masterpiece

I recently began delving into American history and so glad I caught Mr. Fried speaking about his book on Benjamin Rush during a television interview. This book is so detailed and so well written. The narration by Mr. Mayer was magnificent, as if Mr. Rush himself was telling the story. I’m amazed at Mr. Rush’s forward thinking & diligence in writing it all down. The author captured it perfectly!