"American Prometheus" is the first full-scale biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer, "father of the atomic bomb," the brilliant, charismatic physicist...
read full description
reviews
Feb 14, 2011
Brian
rated it: 
“I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.” Such are the lines attributed to Oppenheimer (quoting from his own translation of the Bhagavad Gita) upon viewing the explosion of the first atomic weapon. Even with such a foreboding sentiment, however, pages later Oppenheimer is not only approving the use of the bomb against Japan, he is actually involved of the selection of the targets, and displays no qualms about what he is doing. He would only find out years later that Japan had been days or we
More...
4 comments
like
(3 people liked it)
Oct 03, 2009
Jackie "the Librarian"
rated it: 
This is a very thorough book in some respects, and yet it is so narrow in scope I almost want to run out and read another Oppenheimer biography, and some histories that cover the same time period to get the personal details and background history the authors assumed you knew in THIS book. Almost.
Sure, I'm familiar with the basic details of WWII, the McCarthy Era, and the atomic bomb, but if I wasn't this book wouldn't have helped much. Instead, the authors follow J. Robert Oppenheime More...
Sure, I'm familiar with the basic details of WWII, the McCarthy Era, and the atomic bomb, but if I wasn't this book wouldn't have helped much. Instead, the authors follow J. Robert Oppenheime More...
16 comments
like
(13 people liked it)
Dec 06, 2007
Conrad
rated it:
This book disappointed me on a few counts. First of all, its authors opted never to allow chronology to get in the way of a good story. There are all too many sentences that go something like this: "The conversation Oppie had with Chevalier that night would become very important twelve years later when, while testifying before HUAC..." etcetera. Only in the book, the spoilers are even more portentous.
I would have preferred more physics and less politics. The authors, on th More...
I would have preferred more physics and less politics. The authors, on th More...
4 comments
like
(4 people liked it)
Aug 16, 2008
Erik
rated it: 
Oppenheimer is a hero of mine, and I've long been obsessed with the whole atomic thing. This biography is not only one of the finest of that era and that subject (nuclear then McCarthyism), it is also one of the fines biographies I've ever read. Sad story, that of Bobby O's.
Jan 29, 2011
Sue
rated it:
What a story!
For those of my generation, the story is almost like reading our own history. For younger persons, it's a history that may shock them. Our near past is a complicated affair.
Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin have pieced together details, including transcripts from the FBI and many other sources, in such a way that reading (or listening, in my case, to the audio version) this story is like reading a novel.
If I were to have one complaint about the story, More...
For those of my generation, the story is almost like reading our own history. For younger persons, it's a history that may shock them. Our near past is a complicated affair.
Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin have pieced together details, including transcripts from the FBI and many other sources, in such a way that reading (or listening, in my case, to the audio version) this story is like reading a novel.
If I were to have one complaint about the story, More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jan 17, 2008
Ray
rated it:
At the risk of getting slammed with lots of negative votes on this review, can I offer a mild note of objection?
First of all, I agree with most of the previous reviws. This is well-written, thoroughly researched, the most detailed ever produced on Op., etc. But I am unconvinced by the authors' take on the Communist issue. Nobody much is talking about this because its been a given for 40 years that McCarthy and crew were nuts or evil or both -- but... the new evidence from the Russia More...
First of all, I agree with most of the previous reviws. This is well-written, thoroughly researched, the most detailed ever produced on Op., etc. But I am unconvinced by the authors' take on the Communist issue. Nobody much is talking about this because its been a given for 40 years that McCarthy and crew were nuts or evil or both -- but... the new evidence from the Russia More...
2 comments
like
(3 people liked it)
Jan 17, 2012
Noah
rated it:
Oppenheimer is utterly fascinating: a completely tragic figure (though not Promethean at all). Every bit of his life was interesting. The biography really failed to make the people around him feel alive, though. One physicist friend seemed like another, one liberal foreign policy guy like another, and so on.
The book also does a meticulous job of unpacking exactly who said what when in terms of the accusations of Oppenheimer being a security risk. They really do their reporting homewor More...
The book also does a meticulous job of unpacking exactly who said what when in terms of the accusations of Oppenheimer being a security risk. They really do their reporting homewor More...
Jan 12, 2012
It was an interesting read and an interesting life though during the course of it I realised that Oppenheimer didn't appeal to me at all as a person.
The background is interesting, particularly the role of Communism in the USA during the Popular Front period of opposition to Fascism before WWII and how that then panned out in the 1950s. Oppenheimer's younger brother ended up effectively in a form of internal exile unable to work at all purely as a result of this.
Oppenheim More...
The background is interesting, particularly the role of Communism in the USA during the Popular Front period of opposition to Fascism before WWII and how that then panned out in the 1950s. Oppenheimer's younger brother ended up effectively in a form of internal exile unable to work at all purely as a result of this.
Oppenheim More...
Jun 04, 2011
David
rated it:
This is a brilliant book about one of the most important people of 20th Century science and world events.
Robert Oppenheimer was a slightly flawed genius with a great organisational capacity. The United States was fortunate to find a man who understood what was needed to create the ultimate weapon. The threat of Nazi Germany getting an atomic bomb spurred an expensive program by the USA to get there first.
The intrigues of politics that helped and hindered the Manhattan Project make More...
Robert Oppenheimer was a slightly flawed genius with a great organisational capacity. The United States was fortunate to find a man who understood what was needed to create the ultimate weapon. The threat of Nazi Germany getting an atomic bomb spurred an expensive program by the USA to get there first.
The intrigues of politics that helped and hindered the Manhattan Project make More...
May 19, 2011
Barbara
rated it:
Twenty-five years in creation, this biography records Oppenheimer's life through its many transformations. He was raised by parents who nurtured both his intellect and his sense of social responsibility, two intersecting forces which were in play throughout his entire life. Gifted and intelligent, driven to explore and learn, he successfully transitioned from student and teacher to the administrator of Los Alamos, coordinating the efforts of thousands of minds to win the race for the atomic bo
More...
May 06, 2011
Jonathon
rated it:
An incredibly readable account of a man shown to be both naive and brilliant. The authors crafted a biography that read like fiction at times, easy on the dry details and big on drama. As some have said the book does not go into great detail on Oppenheimer's scientific work instead focusing primarily on the politics, however unlike others I do not believe this to be a downside. Oppenheimer was not one of the greats of physics, he was not an Einstein or a Schrödinger nor was he a great explainer
More...
Feb 09, 2010
Ben
rated it:
Co-written by a Carleton alum, won the Pulitzer prize in 2008(?). I didn't know much about Oppenheimer before reading the book other than that he helped create the atomic bomb as part of the Manhattan Project. He was a great physicist, but even more than that a great communicator and facilitator.
Like "Team of Rivals," which I just read, "American Prometheus" is a great biography in that it doesn't just illuminate the life of a man, but also the times in which he More...
Like "Team of Rivals," which I just read, "American Prometheus" is a great biography in that it doesn't just illuminate the life of a man, but also the times in which he More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jan 15, 2011
Stuart
rated it:
Unlike most of the biographies of the 20th Century Quantum Physicists this book, this book is not about the discoveries of Oppenheimer but what was the character of Robert Oppenheimer and in particular whether he was Communist or not.
As a pre war intellectual he participated in many causes that were organised by the Communist party but it seems that he was either on fringe or carefully hid is membership. It is interesting to remember how many people were active in pro-Communist caus More...
As a pre war intellectual he participated in many causes that were organised by the Communist party but it seems that he was either on fringe or carefully hid is membership. It is interesting to remember how many people were active in pro-Communist caus More...
May 14, 2009
David
rated it:
This is a long and comprehensive (and Pulitzer-winning) biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the brilliant physicist best known for leading the team that developed the atomic bomb. There were many fascinating insights in this book, but I think an abridged version might have satisfied me; it seemed to go on forever (over 26.5 hours in audio). I enjoyed descriptions of Oppenheimer's childhood and early life, studies of physics, interactions with great scientists like Enrico Fermi and Albert Einstei
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Sep 20, 2011
Cruton
rated it:
While I was hoping the book would spend some time breaking down and explaining some of the physics O was dealing with they really didn't do much of that. Perhaps it was intended for those more physics minded or perhaps at that level you can't really break it down into layman's terms. Due to the wide cast of characters O worked with and new over the years it is pretty much impossible to keep track of all the people who come and go through O's life. As a person O is fascinating for his pronounced
More...
Feb 05, 2009
The story of the Manhattan Project has been told so often that this biography appropriately concentrates on Oppenheimer's formative years and the aftermath of his work, rather than on the scientific achievement itself. Nobody disputes the authors' thoroughness or their nuanced understanding of their subject's personality and beliefs. If anything, the research is so detailed that the narrative sometimes drags. With two more biographies of Oppenheimer due out soon, it is premature to call American
More...
Mar 16, 2009
Kariena
rated it:
This book reminded me that reading biographies is a great way to learn your history. It's a hard read, especially the incredibly detailed descriptions of Oppenhimer's connections to the Communist party before the war-BORING, but worth the effort. I came away with a more detailed understanding of atomic politics in the 1940s and 50s. Here's one of the many things I learned that made me want to punch someone in the face:
There are documented communications from Japan to the US in the spring a More...
There are documented communications from Japan to the US in the spring a More...
Mar 30, 2011
Lori L
rated it:
American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird, Martin J. Sherwin was originally published in 2005. My paperback copy has 719 pages, including notes and index. Winner of the 2005 National Book Critics Circle Award and the 2006 Pulitzer Prize, for Biography, this is the definitive biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer. It is a great example of a well researched and carefully written biography, however, it is also a massive, very thorough biography. If you are simpl
More...
Mar 16, 2011
Joseph
rated it:
This was a very interesting book with a lot of nice detail on the life of Oppenheimer. If I have any complaint it is that it was written from a particular point of view regarding the Cold War and the associated nuclear arms race between the United States and the [former] Soviet Union. It supposes a unrealistic alternate history in which, right after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki the United States and the Soviet Union would have agreed to international control of nuclear weapons, in fac
More...
May 01, 2011
Stephanie
rated it:
The story of the Manhattan Project has always fascinated me, but that was all I knew about Robert Oppenheimer's life before reading American Prometheus. Only after reading Kai Bird's account of Oppenheimer's life did I come to realize what a complex yet tragic character he was during the tumultuous McCarthy Era. Although some have criticized this book because it continues a story rather than strictly adhering to chronology, that was one of the aspects I enjoyed most. In this respect it was more
More...
Aug 04, 2009
Katie
rated it:
Technically, I'm still reading this book. It's been over a year. I'm bad at reading. (Don't tell anyone.)
J. Robert Oppenheimer was a fascinating man. Born & raised in New York City, he received an extremely well-balanced, progressive education. Though his interests included the history of religions, languages, & literature, he excelled in math & physics, which (I'm skipping rather a lot here) eventually led him to a position heading up the United States' atomic bomb development progr More...
J. Robert Oppenheimer was a fascinating man. Born & raised in New York City, he received an extremely well-balanced, progressive education. Though his interests included the history of religions, languages, & literature, he excelled in math & physics, which (I'm skipping rather a lot here) eventually led him to a position heading up the United States' atomic bomb development progr More...
Feb 23, 2009
Tony
rated it:
I finished this MUCh easier than Moby Dick.
I am giivng it 5 stars, but really want to give it 4 1/2. I don;t understand the people who complained that it jumped around too much. I was waiting for it and it never happened. The authors followed a reasonable chronological order, with occasional references to future or past events. But in each case they were perfectly natural connections that made the book better and easier. There is so much information that it was helpful to have these More...
I am giivng it 5 stars, but really want to give it 4 1/2. I don;t understand the people who complained that it jumped around too much. I was waiting for it and it never happened. The authors followed a reasonable chronological order, with occasional references to future or past events. But in each case they were perfectly natural connections that made the book better and easier. There is so much information that it was helpful to have these More...
Jan 27, 2010
Roger
rated it:
This is a book that took 25 years of research and two authors working together for 5 years to complete. Robert Oppenheimer was a unique individual, accomplished in so many intellectual pursuits while being one of the most gifted physicist in the 20th Century. He lead the effort to bring the atom bomb to fruitation and he regretted the success from the moment of his success. He wanted the adulation he received and all its benefits but at the same time seem to shy away from all the attention. H
More...
Aug 20, 2009
John
rated it:
My failure to - until now - realize Oppenheimer's historical significance, in terms of his impact on science and his role in American history, must be one of the great gaps in my education. Here is a man responsible for atomic power - and all the consequences of its creation. And yet, somehow he manages to turn the very establishment that empowered his creation, against him. All of this takes place in the backdrop of some of the greatest events in American history (WWII, the cold war), and throu
More...
Mar 26, 2011
Ms.pegasus
rated it:
AMERICAN PROMETHEUS; THE TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY OF J. ROBERT OPPENHEIMER by Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin could not be more aptly named as it attempts to impart structure as well as historical insight into this heavily researched biography.
Historical insight is the dominant theme. A huge amount of space is given to Oppenheimer's associations at Berkeley, his sympathy for social causes, his interest in the plight of acquaintances fleeing Nazi Germany, and the wide swathe of people attracte More...
Historical insight is the dominant theme. A huge amount of space is given to Oppenheimer's associations at Berkeley, his sympathy for social causes, his interest in the plight of acquaintances fleeing Nazi Germany, and the wide swathe of people attracte More...
Feb 05, 2009
Chris
rated it:
Many biographies get bogged down in the details without really conveying the character of the subject. Bird and Sherwin have done an excellent job of giving encyclopedic coverage of the life of Robert Oppenheimer without making the dates and times more important than the man. Anyone with a remote interest in the science and politics which defined the trajectory of the nation for two decades during and after the second world war should read this. I think that Bird and Sherwin view Oppenheimer
More...
Jun 12, 2010
Austin
rated it:
Absolutely fantastic. This is one of the best researched and referenced biographies that I have ever read. Oppenheimer's story is fascinating, as is the insight into an era (several actually) that was before my time. This should be a must-read for any science, politics, or history buff. The lack of a fifth star is only for the slightly dry tone, and the excessive detail (which leads to excessive length) of many parts of his life that I found not only dull, but irrelevant to his "character a
More...
Jul 16, 2009
Michael
rated it:
Epic, thorough, thoughful biography of the great Oppenheimer covers pretty much every aspect of his unusual life. It's definitely a historian's biography, as none of the scientific details are adequately elaborated on, but that's not really the point.
At times it reads like an ode to science, education and progress, and at other times like a spy novel or political thriller. It's biggest flaw is a laggy third quarter, which is mostly about people's attitudes towards the man which I didn't really More...
At times it reads like an ode to science, education and progress, and at other times like a spy novel or political thriller. It's biggest flaw is a laggy third quarter, which is mostly about people's attitudes towards the man which I didn't really More...
Jan 20, 2009
Patrick
rated it:
Of the biographies of J. Robert that have come out in the last few years, this is the best of the lot. The research is impeccable, the prose is dense, the subject (themes beyond the details of his life) are epic and the mystery of this brilliant scientist involved in the greatest physics experiment of the 20th century is a complete as it is probably ever going to get. It’s detailed beyond what a casual reader may want but in a strange way it is compelling. Perhaps, because the enigma of the man
More...
Sep 18, 2011
Amanda
rated it:
With my husband infatuated with all things atomic, it's not surprising that this Pulitzer Prize winner made its way onto our book shelves. Starting to fear that on the book shelf it would continue to lie, I took it upon myself to read this intimating tome. Once I started, it was like a challenge that I refused to quit. It's not the authors' fault - the book was well researched and written - but the subject matter was only marginally interesting to me. And because JRO spent (miserable) year at C
More...
