RUSH

The remarkable story of Benjamin Rush, medical pioneer and one of America's most provocative and unsung Founding Fathers. In the summer of 1776, fifty-six men put their quills to a dangerous document they called the Declaration of Independence. Among them was a thirty-year-old doctor named Benjamin Rush. One of the youngest signatories, he was also, among stiff competition, one of the most visionary--and he was just getting started.

Rush's true brilliance was as a physician and scientist, having pioneered a national healthcare system and revolutionizing the treatment of mental illness and addiction. Yet his provocative medicine was only part of his legacy. Over his lifetime, Dr. Rush was both a progressive thorn in the side of the political establishment--a vocal opponent of the American slave trade and capital punishment--and close friends with its most prominent leaders. He was the protégé of Franklin, the editor of Common Sense, Washington's surgeon general, and the broker of peace between Adams and Jefferson, yet his stubborn convictions more than once threatened his entire career, and his place in the narrative of America's founding.

For readers of Doris Kearns Goodwin, Ron Chernow, and Jon Meacham - RUSH draws on a trove of previously unpublished letters and images--as well as the voluminous correspondence between Benjamin Rush and his better-known counterparts--and candid and incisive personal writings.

STEPHEN FRIED is an award-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author who teaches at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and the University of Pennsylvania. His books include the biography Thing of Beauty: The Tragedy of Supermodel Gia and the investigative books Bitter Pills and The New Rabbi. A two-time winner of the National Magazine Award, Fried has written frequently for Vanity Fair, GQ, The Washington Post Magazine, Rolling Stone, Glamour, and Philadelphia Magazine. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife, author Diane Ayres.