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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
Maybe it gets better as you go, but I listened to 2 & 1/2 hours of this book on audio book and it was nothing but Oppenheimer being an emo teen/early 20s. This seems like a comprehensive picture of him, but the first part was so filled with minutia that I can't possibly go on.
Into the Did Not Finish pile.
Into the Did Not Finish pile.
challenging
dark
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
4.5 out of 5
Fascinating and very thorough! It took me a long time to get through it (mainly because I sometimes just felt like reading something quick and light instead), but I'm so glad I read it because I learned so much. I never knew what an interesting person Oppenheimer was!
The biography does feel a little dry and overly detailed in some parts, but the majority of it is flows very well, and despite its length it's not a difficult read. There is an excellent balance of biographical facts, personality, and political climate here, which really made me feel like I was getting the full picture. I would definitely recommend it to anyone even remotely interested in Oppenheimer.
Fascinating and very thorough! It took me a long time to get through it (mainly because I sometimes just felt like reading something quick and light instead), but I'm so glad I read it because I learned so much. I never knew what an interesting person Oppenheimer was!
The biography does feel a little dry and overly detailed in some parts, but the majority of it is flows very well, and despite its length it's not a difficult read. There is an excellent balance of biographical facts, personality, and political climate here, which really made me feel like I was getting the full picture. I would definitely recommend it to anyone even remotely interested in Oppenheimer.
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
The amount of detail in this book is almost incredible. All props to Bird because he did his research like rent was due. This book focuses on Robert for the most part of course, but it also gives a very detailed description of Kitty and their children. I learned so much about all of them and it was fascinating to read about them (Toni broke my heart).
Almost every single character is given an introduction on their history, and sometimes characters would get confusing, but it made me feel like I was learning so much about these people.
The plot has a good pace, some of the government/ scientific jargon was definitely lost on me but I really enjoyed reading this overall.
(Also there are quite a few minor differences between this book and the film Oppenheimer so be warned)
Almost every single character is given an introduction on their history, and sometimes characters would get confusing, but it made me feel like I was learning so much about these people.
The plot has a good pace, some of the government/ scientific jargon was definitely lost on me but I really enjoyed reading this overall.
(Also there are quite a few minor differences between this book and the film Oppenheimer so be warned)
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Instantly earned a place in my most prized books
Fascinating book that paints a rather complicated and somewhat baffling picture of a man. It makes the movie Oppenheimer seem that much worse, to be honest. His whole life flattened down without anything that made him actually interesting.
While the atomic bomb is the centerpiece here, for obvious reasons, what surrounds that period of his life is the real interesting part. What kind of man became the father of the atom bomb and then would go on to speak out against its use and proliferation.
Definitely worthwhile if you like knowing about the FBI, McCarthyism, and science history.
While the atomic bomb is the centerpiece here, for obvious reasons, what surrounds that period of his life is the real interesting part. What kind of man became the father of the atom bomb and then would go on to speak out against its use and proliferation.
Definitely worthwhile if you like knowing about the FBI, McCarthyism, and science history.