Rush

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

De: Stephen Fried

Narrado por: 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

Reseñas de la Crítica

“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)

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.

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.

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!

Unsung Hero

I learned a lot about an important historical figure who unfortunately gets overlooked in American history.

RUSH

Great read and will make you wonder aloud why he isn't more famous! He should be revived for the advancement of medicine for all as one of his last directives to his MD Son, "be indulgent to the poor!"

Fascinating Biography

I have always been fascinated by Benjamin Rush since his letters are mentioned often in the biographies of John & Abigail Adams. He is indeed a forgotten Founder who needs more recognition.

I did not know that!

There were so many tidbits in this book I did not know. I am no scholar but have read much on Jefferson and Adams. I found Rush a pretty amazing person and was reminded again of the deep sacrifices our founding fathers and their families made. That they are so readily dismissed and scorned today proves what many have forgotten or never knew to begin with.
The narration was fine. I found some of the letters a little trying to get through, particularly the one describing dreams. The description of the care for the mentally ill shows how far we have come and Dr. Rush set us upon that path.

The narration problem can be corrected

I'm only partway through this book, but I wanted to share my solution to the weird slow-speech and pauses. I had listened to another biography read by the same narrator, and that sounded fine, so I decided to try adjusting the playback speed to 1.1 (that's an option in the Audible app) and that did the trick. It seems that for some reason the publisher decided to slow down the narration. It's a shame, because they're doing a disservice to both the narrator and this (so far) excellent book.

An Amazing Read!

Well-researched and thoroughly engaging story of the life of one of the founding fathers-Dr Benjamin Rush. The amazing life of a man who was intimately acquainted with all the principals in the American Revolution. He was also the American pioneer in mental health and in military camp hygiene. His voluminous correspondence adds much to our knowledge of the lives and times of the Revolution. He was responsible for the rapprochement between Adams and Jefferson which produced years of letters between those two until their deaths. This is a “must read” audiobook!