American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer (Vintage)

# American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin. # Triumph and Tragedy of Robert Oppenheimer. It's a kind of backward integration for me. I first watched the film Oppenheimer last year and that led me to the book. The movie is an adaptation of this book. The book gives granular details of what was shown in the film but the focus was more on the Manhattan Project. Obviously it's difficult to scope in all that is there in the book in about 3 hours. Considered as the Father of Atom bomb, Oppenheimer fell in the wrong books of President Truman as he opposed deploying atom bomb on Japan. The purpose of the bomb was to destroy Germany. But by the time it was ready, Germany surrendered and Hitler had committed suicide. Oppenheimer was against using it against Japan which was already defeated and ready to surrender. But Truman was determined to show America's might and strength. And there began the problems for Oppenheimer. Subsequently he also opposed the development of the Hydrogen bomb. And the witch hunt begins. Oppenheimer once was a member of the Communist Party but now had completely severed his links but that was enough for the Republican governments to indict and crucify Oppenheimer. He was stripped of all Government positions and security clearances withdrawn. He was holding a key position at Princeton University. US wanted to strip that as well but the scientific community led by Einstein protested strongly and the Government was unsuccessful. Oppenheimer's image was resurrected after the Democrat John F Kennedy was elected US President. Sadly even after Oppenheimer's death, his children continued to suffer. His son didn't use his second name to eke out living doing menial jobs and his daughter committed suicide as she could not secure jobs as security clearances were denied to her. It made for sad reading towards the end. An excellent book provided one has patience to read a 700 page tome in small size print. 5/5.

The book was delivered in outstanding, excellent, brand new and undamaged condition with strong & sturdy packaging. All thanks to Amazon for fast and quality delivery.

Expansive in scope and revealing in content A good read for people interested in that era . Could have been shorter But I guess wouldn’t have won the Pulitzer then

Just buy it and read, it's a great book. I'd recommend watching the movie first and then reading the book, you'll see how great books are. It gives a new perspective.

I've gone halfway through this book and I can say quite surely already that I've never read any biography with such depth and detailing.The biggest question is how could Truman be so naive thinking that the Soviets could not build an atom bomb.now literally they have 400 more bombs than america.The scientist who had everything to become the next einstein but couldn't because of his impatience.The man who opened the doors with his ideas that led to monumental discoveries in the field of quantum physics by various scientists,that's Oppenheimer for me.

Not saying it is better than the movie, but for some, the book will prevail. Once you read it, you realise just how much the movie left out. Will not spoil anything, but if you were in awe for Oppenheimer after watching the movie, you will be in love with him after you read the book. It will form a deeper connection with the protagonists, and will read almost like a novel. It has everything, from his days as a child to his college life, to getting to work at the university to his love life to the bomb to pretty much everything you can think of. This man did it all. Must read.

Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin collaborated on a magnificent book about J. Robert Oppenheimer, ‘The American Prometheus.’ The collaboration resulted in the blockbuster movie “Oppenheimer,” which is a magnificent film. The story starts with his parents, their marriage, journey to America, and building a fortune in their new home. Fate and genetics are strange, because the parents–with no background in science–gave birth to two physicists, one a theoretical physicist, and the other an experimental physicist. The authors then trace the arc of his life, from being an introverted genius to a powerful speaker and leader. Most authors glorify their subjects–not Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin, as they outline his achievements and limitations. He was never good with the mathematical aspects of his concepts. The story of the atomic bomb's development can be a book unto itself, with the development moving from concept to execution. In the book, they highlight the almost childlike glee of the scientists when they conceived of the weapon. During the development, Oppenheimer ignored the warnings and reservations of other scientists: he focused on the job. They do an excellent job of describing his change of heart after the bombs exploded, his conversion to being an advocate of restraint, the case against him, and his death. Oppenheimer was not a perfect man, and an imperfect father, leaving two children who struggled after he died. His son downplayed his surname and the connection to the bomb, and his daughter committed suicide. Neither did he have a perfect marriage, with a talented, almost alcoholic wife, and several affairs. What do the authors leave us with, but a magnificent story of a flawed genius who had the courage to stand by his convictions? All of us are flawed but few have an outsized impact on the world, and fewer still stand by our conviction with Oppenheimer’s courage.

I watched the movie Oppenheimer first, at that time I haven't even heard his name. The movie made me fall in love with his character, his eccentricity, his candor, then I thought I need to find more about him, and I came across this book, it's a novel basically. But as the cover says, it reads like a thriller, and is actually a page turner. I never found myself bored reading it, and I'm glad that I read it, and I can now say with the knowledge that I have, that J.R Oppenheimer was a genius, extremely complicated man. Though even after being such a genius, why he did, what he did, i.e. why he built a weapon of mass genocide is arguable, I won't give a spoiler, after reading the book, it is pretty clear. As I said earlier, if you ask me, it is not a highly-recommended read, like Steve Jobs' biography, but if you are an ambitious, driven individual towards whatever goals you might have, it might be the next right book to read after Steve Jobs' biography.

In every 4-5 pages, one page comes out, not even glued to binding. I thought it is a temporary fault which will be ok further but no, the whole book is flawed.

This book is a must-read and was the basis for the Oppenheimer film. It explains the physics in accessible terms without talking down. It explains the technical and management challenges of the programme which today remains a unique case of mastering both under pressure. It spends less effort on the ethical dilemmas for the physicists and it missed out on a famous quotation "We knew sin, not for the work we did, but for the enjoyment it generated" (rough quotation from memory). For those who know it well and for those who don't it should be part of our culture to read it.

Bellissimo libro, molto dettagliato, ripercorre la vita di un grande personaggio fornendo un background chiaro della sia formazione sin da bambino, permettendo di capirne la personalità e i conflitti interni

Very nice book

A fantastically, well-researched book about Robert Oppenheimer that gives a great insight into his character.