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American Prometheus: The Inspiration for the Major Motion Picture OPPENHEIMER

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THE INSPIRATION FOR THE ACADEMY AWARD®-WINNING MAJOR MOTION PICTURE OPPENHEIMER • "A riveting account of one of history’s most essential and paradoxical figures.”—Christopher Nolan 1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • The definitive biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer, one of the iconic figures of the twentieth century, a brilliant physicist who led the effort to build the atomic bomb for his country in a time of war, and who later found himself confronting the moral consequences of scientific progress. In this magisterial, acclaimed biography twenty-five years in the making, Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin capture Oppenheimer’s life and times, from his early career to his central role in the Cold War. This is biography and history at its finest, riveting and deeply informative. “A masterful account of Oppenheimer’s rise and fall, set in the context of the turbulent decades of America’s own transformation. It is a tour de force.” —Los Angeles Times Book Review “A work of voluminous scholarship and lucid insight, unifying its multifaceted portrait with a keen grasp of Oppenheimer’s essential nature.... It succeeds in deeply fathoming his most damaging, self-contradictory behavior.” —The New York Times Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Vintage Books; Reprint edition (May 1, 2006)


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Paperback ‏ : ‎ 721 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0375726268


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 62


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.21 x 1.58 x 7.97 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #2,593 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #3 in Nuclear Physics (Books) #19 in Scientist Biographies #28 in United States Biographies


#3 in Nuclear Physics (Books):


#19 in Scientist Biographies:


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • Searching Portrait of a Compelling American Hero
Bird and Sherwin have produced what must be the definitive biography of Robert Oppenheimer, finding his unique personality and his remarkable gifts in every facet of his life, from childhood to scientific/political triumph to his persecuted twilight. The book - 25 years in the making! - is exhaustively researched and illuminates the trajectory of his life in intimate detail from beginning to end. Oppenheimer's reputation, of course, rests on his unprecedented and unequaled achievement in planning and running the Manhattan Project to its final earth-shaking success in August 1945, and secondarily on his post-war role as sachem of nuclear policy and his political destruction by Cold War hawks who resented his warnings about the threat to peace from unlimited nuclear competition. But Bird and Sherwin give each stage of Oppenheimer's life its due, including his gilded childhood, his troubled educational years, his rise to scientific prominence as the reigning American exponent of the new physics in the 1930s, and finally his mordant recasting as, essentially, speaker for the dead in the unstoppable post-war madness. Though Oppenheimer's life, from the late '30s on, was shaped and dominated by the atomic bomb he birthed and regretted, each successive period in that life was filled with its own personal drama and with the characteristically quirky incidents in which Oppenheimer tended to enmesh himself, and which said so much about his complex personality. The result is a comprehensive and balanced reading of the man through the whole of his life; the Manhattan Project and its aftermath loom large, as they have to, but they do not obscure the fact that there was a real person underneath those historic events, and that person comes through in a rich, subtle, and - inevitably - somewhat inconclusive portrait. The authors do not shy away from writing their own opinions into the story, giving reasonable interpretations of the many controversial incidents in Oppenheimer's life, but which are clearly interpretations nevertheless. The book is deeply researched and the events are reported with clear and extensive factual support; it is easy to read their reconstructions of the history as authoritative. It is necessary to remind oneself that other interpretations are possible, however compelling these authors are in their presentation. At the same time, the authors are open about identifying their own interpretations as such; the material seems fairly and honestly presented, and the authors' conclusions are convincing. The story of the Manhattan Project has been told many times, and this volume adds little to what is already known, though it illuminates the terrible strain of the project on Oppenheimer in a powerful way. The dramatic story of the Trinity test is told here in personalized fragments of detail about numerous individuals - rather than a technical focus on the Gadget - that gives that history a new and unique meaning. The treatment of the AEC investigation that led to Oppenheimer being stripped of his security clearance and government advisory role is perhaps the strongest part of the whole book - a tour de force of historical research, reportorial detail, and logical interpretation that makes it abundantly clear how shockingly dishonest that process was, and what a contrived and deliberate campaign of personal destruction drove it. Throughout, Oppenheimer's fascinating and often self-destructive personality is illuminated in intriguing detail. There is no part of the volume that does not make fascinating reading. It seems likely that "American Prometheus" will be the touchstone biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer for the foreseeable future (and, probably, forever: this will likely be the last major such work grounded so fully on primary research among surviving figures from Oppenheimer's life). It is strongly recommended to anyone with an interest in Oppenheimer as a person, as a scientist, and as a world figure. It is not a major contribution to the history of the Manhattan Project in its practical aspects, but does illuminate many of the personalities involved and life on "the Hill" during the project. It is exhaustive and authoritative on the subject of Oppenheimer's pre-war political dalliances and his post-war persecution. All in all, it is a moving, compelling, often heart-breaking study of an unique, difficult, indispensable American. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2014 by Kevin T. Keith
    • Worth Reading If Liked The Movie
I watched Oppenheimer when it came out last summer. It was riveting. It won many Oscars. It is a masterpiece. But it also inspired me to pick up the book it was adapted from. I did not regret it. Although it is a very big read, it is very engaging. It is filled with so many details that it gets a bit overwhelming at times, but the overall arc of the life of Oppenheimer grounds all the threads that weave together through the story. I enjoyed every minute I spent reading this book. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2024 by Almodather Awad
    • A very thorough book about a remarkable man
Oppenheimer was a brilliant, very capable individual but an eccentric personality. The authors go into considerable detail as to his sympathy and association with extreme leftists and even communists in the 30s but conclude Oppenheimer, himself, was never a party member. They don't really delve into why Oppenheimer and many others were at least fellow travelers but the past is a foreign country. They do things differently there. The authors cite what Oppenheimer and others felt about the use of the bomb on Japan, that it was against a country which had been virtually defeated. They fail to acknowledge the recent reputable historians who argue that the Japanese were not prepared to surrender. I had been unaware of Oppenheimer's friendship with George Kennan. The critique of the revocation of Oppenheimer's security clearance is thorough and devastating. Whatever legitimate concerns that there were had been addressed during and immediately after WWII. The 1954 revocation was procedurally flawed, and based on policy disagreements and personal animus on the part of the AEC chairman. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2023 by Kindle Customer
    • The movie was faithful to the book
This is not a quick read for sure. The book is so big it’s hard to hold, so probably better to read it on the Kindle. I got it from the library, and it was falling apart to such an extent that when I returned it, it really needed to be re-glued before they could give it to another reader. That being said, I found Oppenheimer a very interesting person. You really couldn’t get that much of a handle on who he was in the movie, compared to reading the book. Definitely worth the effort and very well done, including his relationship with his wife and children, which is always an interesting part of any book. It certainly helps to know the history of our country during those years. My granddaughter, age 18, went to see it, and I wanted to make sure she knew about the house un-American activities committee and what was going on at that time in our country. My husband, a newspaper journalist in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, back in the day, interviewed Oppenheimer for his newspaper. He mentioned to me that he thought Oppenheimer was haunted by his connection to the bomb, and that made me all the more interested in seeing the film. He was a man who did everything he could to stop the proliferation of the H bomb. He never could’ve dreamed the way things would go. After reading this, I decided that I could no longer defend Harry Truman for the bombing of Nagasaki, especially when one finds out that the Japanese were so close to surrendering. How can you ignore a nation with so many innocent people at risk? I thought Truman was smarter and more sensitive than he turns out to be, according to these authors. All in all, an interesting read and well worth your time. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2023 by Vivian T

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