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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
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
This beautiful, brilliant, brilliant book! Oppie, I am in awe of you. So much greatness in one man! I love this book and I find it hard to separate from it. I felt like throwing it several times - because of all the injustices that were done to Oppie - but I kept on going, just like he did.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Were it not for Christopher Nolan's film, I likely would not have read this book, especially when considering its length and pace. American Prometheus certainly is a very slow book that lacks the flair of its movie counterpart for obvious reasons, but still does tell an extraordinarily interesting story.
I will admit, however, that I would've had a harder time getting through had I not had connections from multiple viewings of the adaptation to go back on, but overall, the book still is extremely thorough, leaving out no information from Oppie's childhood to his final years.
A great book if you have the patience and the time, but otherwise, if this is a story you are interested in without necessarily having the time to spare, I'd just suggest the movie.
I will admit, however, that I would've had a harder time getting through had I not had connections from multiple viewings of the adaptation to go back on, but overall, the book still is extremely thorough, leaving out no information from Oppie's childhood to his final years.
A great book if you have the patience and the time, but otherwise, if this is a story you are interested in without necessarily having the time to spare, I'd just suggest the movie.
The level of research that has gone into this book is staggering, and the end result is a biography that clearly shows great respect for its subject, but doesn’t fail to present him as the complex and flawed human he was. Oppenheimer is someone who both seems to have received outsized recognition for his scientific contributions (he never really produced anything himself) and never received the accolades he deserved. Additionally, “Oppie” was a highly complex human, with a wide array of interests and an odd manner with people; he could be both highly off-putting and the most charming and persuasive person in the room. If all this seems confusing, it should be. Oppenheimer is someone who worked on a project that he felt was vitally necessary to the safety of humanity, while also recognizing the dangers of the end-result if it were to go unregulated. While initially intimidating, Bird and Sherwin’s massive biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer is in actuality a highly readable story of a unique, and uniquely, American figure. I highly recommend this book as both a biography on a significant 20th century figure and as an exploration of the politics surrounding scientific advancement and research brought about by the success of the Manhattan Project.
I read American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer in conjunction with watching the film Oppenheimer as a part of the adapted screenplay nominees at the 2024 Academy Awards.
American Prometheus was long. A 720-someodd page book. A near 30-hour audiobook. It took me over two months to plow through it, but here I am.
Was this fun to read? No.
Was it necessary? I think so, yes.
I like non-fiction, but not to this degree. It read like an encyclopedia, which I can acknowledge took an incredible amount of effort and talent -plus 20+ years of research- to put together. I almost view it as a historical record moreso than a book.
I can understand why American Prometheus won the Pulitzer Prize and why it is so vital. But, unless you’re keenly interested in deep-dive historical accounts, this wouldn’t be a great book for you.
What kind of rating do you give this with that considered? By its importance or how much you enjoyed it? I choose the cowards' route: I pick neither.
Christopher Nolan did a great job of adapting the points from this record into a cohesive, easy to digest film. And I can say, while I typically read the book prior to seeing the adaptation, in this case, it really helped doing it the other way around. The visualizations kept me engaged with what was happening in the text, almost like an index.
This is the second book I’ve read in the last six months or so that pointed out Washington & Truman knew the Japanese were all but defeated, and planned to surrender, when they dropped the bombs, which killed well over 100,000 civilians. And that is a depressing, albeit not surprising thing to learn, and that those with power who stood against these ideas, were ultimately put to ruin.
I appreciate this book calls it out for what it was. A quote:
“Oppenheimer’s warnings were ignored—and ultimately, he was silenced. Like that rebellious Greek god Prometheus—who stole fire from Zeus and bestowed it upon humankind, Oppenheimer gave us atomic fire. But then, when he tried to control it, when he sought to make us aware of its terrible dangers, the powers-that-be, like Zeus, rose up in anger to punish him.”
I would like to think Oppenheimer would feel vindicated by what is on these pages.
American Prometheus was long. A 720-someodd page book. A near 30-hour audiobook. It took me over two months to plow through it, but here I am.
Was this fun to read? No.
Was it necessary? I think so, yes.
I like non-fiction, but not to this degree. It read like an encyclopedia, which I can acknowledge took an incredible amount of effort and talent -plus 20+ years of research- to put together. I almost view it as a historical record moreso than a book.
I can understand why American Prometheus won the Pulitzer Prize and why it is so vital. But, unless you’re keenly interested in deep-dive historical accounts, this wouldn’t be a great book for you.
What kind of rating do you give this with that considered? By its importance or how much you enjoyed it? I choose the cowards' route: I pick neither.
Christopher Nolan did a great job of adapting the points from this record into a cohesive, easy to digest film. And I can say, while I typically read the book prior to seeing the adaptation, in this case, it really helped doing it the other way around. The visualizations kept me engaged with what was happening in the text, almost like an index.
This is the second book I’ve read in the last six months or so that pointed out Washington & Truman knew the Japanese were all but defeated, and planned to surrender, when they dropped the bombs, which killed well over 100,000 civilians. And that is a depressing, albeit not surprising thing to learn, and that those with power who stood against these ideas, were ultimately put to ruin.
I appreciate this book calls it out for what it was. A quote:
“Oppenheimer’s warnings were ignored—and ultimately, he was silenced. Like that rebellious Greek god Prometheus—who stole fire from Zeus and bestowed it upon humankind, Oppenheimer gave us atomic fire. But then, when he tried to control it, when he sought to make us aware of its terrible dangers, the powers-that-be, like Zeus, rose up in anger to punish him.”
I would like to think Oppenheimer would feel vindicated by what is on these pages.
Fascinating. My only complaint was the final third got a bit bogged down. I listened on audio and there were a hundred names to keep track of.
Strauss was a insecure, jealous psychopath. Yikes.
Strauss was a insecure, jealous psychopath. Yikes.
challenging
informative
slow-paced
informative
reflective
slow-paced
informative
reflective
informative
medium-paced
4.5
I saw Oppenheimer last year and knew I had to read the book that the movie was based on. A difficult but rewarding read. What a remarkable life. I learned a lot about the man, but also a lot about the science and the politics of the period that he lived in. As with most history books I have read lately, what I learned in school doesn’t match up well against what really happened.
Supposedly the authors spent 25 years working on this book, I thought it was going to take me that long to finish it!
I wouldn’t say it was an enjoyable read, but it was certainly fascinating and thought provoking. It was a bit depressing to boot.
Thought it spent too much time on the "Chevalier Incident", beat that to death. Otherwise a great biography.
Tons of footnotes and references.
I saw Oppenheimer last year and knew I had to read the book that the movie was based on. A difficult but rewarding read. What a remarkable life. I learned a lot about the man, but also a lot about the science and the politics of the period that he lived in. As with most history books I have read lately, what I learned in school doesn’t match up well against what really happened.
Supposedly the authors spent 25 years working on this book, I thought it was going to take me that long to finish it!
I wouldn’t say it was an enjoyable read, but it was certainly fascinating and thought provoking. It was a bit depressing to boot.
Thought it spent too much time on the "Chevalier Incident", beat that to death. Otherwise a great biography.
Tons of footnotes and references.