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1.64k reviews for:
American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer
Martin J. Sherwin, Kai Bird
4.33 AVERAGE
1.64k reviews for:
American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer
Martin J. Sherwin, Kai Bird
4.33 AVERAGE
challenging
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
After several weeks and months, I have finally finished this mountain of a book and I'm happy to report that my rating ends up being a 4.25. This is simply such an amazing piece of literary and historical research. It honestly cannot be overemphasised how much work and effort has been put into this biography to cover almost every nook and cranny of Oppenheimer's life and career. Interviews, documents, letters, classified files, testimonies, really everything anyone has ever said or written about Oppenheimer, comes together in this book to create a truly thorough picture of the physicist.
To a degree this huge amount information is almost too much to comprehend for the reader. Honestly, my only bigger problem with this book is that occasionally it just feels like a long list of names and dates that the reader is being given, but we will never really remember any of those people because there are just way too many introduced. At certain points in the book you sort of stop trying to keep track of what is going on and hope something interesting will pop up soon to draw you back in. Some elements could've been portrayed in even more detail (like Oppenheimer's private life) or simply with a more narrative friendly kind of writing style that didn't make you feel like you were reading a Wikipedia article.
Honestly, this book is a marvellous piece of literature and research. You can tell how much love and hard work ahs gone into this biography and once you have finished reading it, you will definitely have encountered several moments of Oppenheimer's life that will just stick with you. I'm so glad I decided to pick this up after watching the movie, this adds so much background to who Oppenheimer was a person. Definitely pick this one up if you enjoy intricate biographies or simply wanna hear about an interesting historical figure.
To a degree this huge amount information is almost too much to comprehend for the reader. Honestly, my only bigger problem with this book is that occasionally it just feels like a long list of names and dates that the reader is being given, but we will never really remember any of those people because there are just way too many introduced. At certain points in the book you sort of stop trying to keep track of what is going on and hope something interesting will pop up soon to draw you back in. Some elements could've been portrayed in even more detail (like Oppenheimer's private life) or simply with a more narrative friendly kind of writing style that didn't make you feel like you were reading a Wikipedia article.
Honestly, this book is a marvellous piece of literature and research. You can tell how much love and hard work ahs gone into this biography and once you have finished reading it, you will definitely have encountered several moments of Oppenheimer's life that will just stick with you. I'm so glad I decided to pick this up after watching the movie, this adds so much background to who Oppenheimer was a person. Definitely pick this one up if you enjoy intricate biographies or simply wanna hear about an interesting historical figure.
challenging
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
informative
slow-paced
An astonishing feat of writing. The level of detail and depth this book provides on just a single figure is astounding. I think the book perfectly balances the level of fact and authorial interpretation that a complicated history like this necessitates and I just can’t stop being so impressed when trying to wrap my head around how something like this was written. The portrayal of Oppenheimer is so lengthy and intimate, at times almost too much so, that I couldn’t help but be a bit sad when it was over. My own opinion on him went on a massive journey throughout the read and, though I don’t think I would necessarily have liked him, I think I very much would have liked the chance to meet him.
Anyways, amazing book and I think anyone in modern America could really do with giving this a read. It can repeat itself a bit but at least I now have the pleasure of getting to picture him as Cillian Murphy to keep me interested during the slower parts.
Anyways, amazing book and I think anyone in modern America could really do with giving this a read. It can repeat itself a bit but at least I now have the pleasure of getting to picture him as Cillian Murphy to keep me interested during the slower parts.
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
informative
slow-paced
A rare time when I bought a book based on a movie, as well as a rare time that I picked up a biography. Also, I paid full price for this book, and bought it new. A triple threat. I couldn't wait to pick it up.
It's very good, well-written, and well-researched. There's a reason it's won awards; it's more thorough than other academic biographies that I can vaguely remember reading. It's a very dense book.
Those who are looking for a history of the atomic bomb in all of its detail will be disappointed. While there's a lot about that here, it's not the focus or function of the book. Oppenheimer himself is the focus, and anything not related to him or those who played a large part in his life isn't emphasized.
There's a criticism that you don't get much about Oppenheimer's personal life here, and that's valid. I wonder if it's hard to find such information. But it does excel as a biography of a political figure and all the intrigue that surrounded him.
It's very good, well-written, and well-researched. There's a reason it's won awards; it's more thorough than other academic biographies that I can vaguely remember reading. It's a very dense book.
Those who are looking for a history of the atomic bomb in all of its detail will be disappointed. While there's a lot about that here, it's not the focus or function of the book. Oppenheimer himself is the focus, and anything not related to him or those who played a large part in his life isn't emphasized.
There's a criticism that you don't get much about Oppenheimer's personal life here, and that's valid. I wonder if it's hard to find such information. But it does excel as a biography of a political figure and all the intrigue that surrounded him.