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1.63k reviews for:
American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer
Martin J. Sherwin, Kai Bird
4.33 AVERAGE
1.63k reviews for:
American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer
Martin J. Sherwin, Kai Bird
4.33 AVERAGE
I listened to this book so I could better understand the Oppenheimer movie that just recently released. There is a ton of information in here. It seems like a brilliant person got used up and spit out by the US goverment, which may have been a surprise to me if I didn't think they tried to use up everyone. I'm looking forward to the movie.
I had a hard time getting through the last third of the book, in which they detail the minutiae of Oppenheimer’s hearings. Most people who enjoy courtroom dramas may enjoy it? I’m just not in that category.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Exploring the paradoxical nature of the Cold War, the Manhattan project, and the contradictory nature of humanity and relationship, this biography is dynamic to be confused for a great historical drama.
This was an extremely thorough biography. At times, perhaps more detail than I'd care for regarding his upbringing or his Princeton days dealing with faculty politics. But overall, as a big fan of the Oppenheimer movie, this book helped fill in some details.
Lots of really interesting context around the details that led to the security hearing, issues people like him and his friends were dealing with during the Red Scare, more info about his relationship to Strauss. Greater detail around his family life, his relationships with certain scientists that maybe got a line of dialogue in the movie. No complaints about the movie - I thought Nolan really nailed what to cut the movie down to - but the book serves as a great source and a great complement to the film now.
Lots of really interesting context around the details that led to the security hearing, issues people like him and his friends were dealing with during the Red Scare, more info about his relationship to Strauss. Greater detail around his family life, his relationships with certain scientists that maybe got a line of dialogue in the movie. No complaints about the movie - I thought Nolan really nailed what to cut the movie down to - but the book serves as a great source and a great complement to the film now.
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Excellently thorough biography of Oppenheimer. I heard it's been made to a motion picture with Cillian Murphy in the lead role which I'm looking forward to
You may have like me seen the film and wanted to find out more. Well this book will give you more. Genius yes, nice man to many but not so to others. His wife Kitty gets a flattering portrayal in the film compared to this book. The book is incredibly detailed and quite gripping. There are further dealings with Strauss after the senate committee hearing that the film doesn’t cover for example. Also his childhood is covered which gives insight into his character development.Don’t be put off by the science, there’s surprising little of it. All in all an engrossing story of a man idolised by some and hated by others.
this is SO incredibly good and so incredibly dense. reading this in fits and spurts is not the way to handle it, so i'm looking forward to trying again when i can give it more dedicated attention.
American Prometheus is a big book about a complex and contradictory man. All I knew about Joseph Robert Oppenheimer before I read it was his name and involvement with the Manhattan Project, but there was much more to him and his career. Born into a well-off New York family in 1904, he majored in chemistry at Harvard but became interested in physics at Cambridge. He had his share of difficulties during these years but then returned to the US to teach at Berkeley and Caltech, and eventually became an inspiring leader at Los Alamos after being chosen by General Leslie Groves to head the scientific team that was building the atomic bomb.
This book is not all physics and bomb-building but includes plenty of personal details about Oppenheimer's habits and life. A few times, the book becomes a little dry and perhaps the authors shared a few too many details, but the depth does help the reader to understand Oppenheimer's complexity and complications. The subtitle "The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer" is an apt one because "Oppie's" later years were full of struggles. Walking home with Oppenheimer, Einstein said, "You know, when it’s once been given to a man to do something sensible, afterward life is a little strange." And it was. Oppenheimer became the longest-serving Director of The Institute for Advanced Study and scientific advisor for the Atomic Energy Commission but opposed building the even more powerful hydrogen bomb. Harry Truman called him "that crybaby scientist" and Lewis Strauss (chair of the AEC) had Oppenheimer's security clearance revoked. He died of throat cancer in 1967.
This book is not all physics and bomb-building but includes plenty of personal details about Oppenheimer's habits and life. A few times, the book becomes a little dry and perhaps the authors shared a few too many details, but the depth does help the reader to understand Oppenheimer's complexity and complications. The subtitle "The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer" is an apt one because "Oppie's" later years were full of struggles. Walking home with Oppenheimer, Einstein said, "You know, when it’s once been given to a man to do something sensible, afterward life is a little strange." And it was. Oppenheimer became the longest-serving Director of The Institute for Advanced Study and scientific advisor for the Atomic Energy Commission but opposed building the even more powerful hydrogen bomb. Harry Truman called him "that crybaby scientist" and Lewis Strauss (chair of the AEC) had Oppenheimer's security clearance revoked. He died of throat cancer in 1967.
"He was, in fact, an immensely human figure, as talented as he was complex, at once brilliant and naïve, a passionate advocate for social justice and a tireless government adviser whose commitment to harnessing a runaway nuclear arms race earned him powerful bureaucratic enemies."
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
This book is thick. It covers all of Oppenheimers life though his friends, family, fellow scientists, and even letters written by Robert Oppenheimer. The middle while at Los Alamos is dense. It is a lot there are a lot of characters at play but it is the most interesting section of the book. Roberts whole life is intriguing and fascinating to learn about. Robert was an intelligent man who challenged the known science and created wonders and horrors for our world. He was a man who deserved better treatment from the country he served for so long.