This autobiography relates Rush's experiences in college and medical school; his meetings with notable doctors; his life in Scotland, England, and France; his medical views; the military and politics during the Revolutionary War; and brief sketches of personalities of that period.

These photostats of letters were collected from various repositories by Lyman H. Butterfield for his book, "Letters of Benjamin Rush" 2 v. American Philosophical Society Memoirs 30(1951). Some of the topics discussed are Philadelphia and United States politics, slavery, Afro-American churches, and medicine.