American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer Summary and Reviews

American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer
by Kai Bird, Martin J. Sherwin

American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer
List Price: $40.00
Our Price: $35.39
You Save: $4.61 (12%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $10.99 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


or

Book Summary Information

Author: Kai Bird, Martin J. Sherwin
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2005-04-05
ISBN: 0375412026
Number of pages: 736
Publisher: Knopf

Book Reviews of American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer

Book Review: A Fairly Well Balanced and Researched Book: Impressive
Summary: 5 Stars

This is a well crafted and detailed story of J. Robert Oppenheimer, and in general it is an impressive effort by the authors - being almost 750 pages long. I guess in an era of sales hype I did find the book jacket inside notes a bit annoying in that the people marketing the book claim that this is the first comprehensive biography on Oppenheimer. Technically speaking one can debate that fine point, and perhaps it is true in narrow terms, but a quick GOOGLE search will show that there are many books and articles on Oppenheimer going back at least 40 years. Plus there have been books and articles on the Oppenheimer-Lawrence relationship. I had already read at least two books including the 1968 book Lawrence and Oppenheimer by Nuel Pharr Davis, and I read it decades ago, plus there are many others, so long ago that I now forget which book I read and which I did not, but I did read the Davis book and it had a lot of similar information.

Now for the present book, it is definitely a well researched and it is a comprehensive book that covers the mostly complete story from his birth to the end and his throat cancer. There are many excellent photographs, lots of notes, and much documentation. It is well written and well crafted as a book and presents the human side of the man along with all the political pressures.

In an era of The Patriot Act, I thought that the book had a number of very important points and lessons for humanity, and also the price of dissent in our free society. Here we follow the story of Oppenheimer and how his worked and sweated under a lot of pressure to make the first few weapons, but having made them he realized the implications and their danger. He was strongly against the next step - that of making the hydrogen bomb and thought the plutonium nukes were themselves dangerous enough. As we already knew in general, but perhaps not in the detail presented here in this new book, that his opposition to mega-bomb cost him his security clearance and tarnished his reputation. Oppenheimer - according to the present book - thought the hydrogen bomb would never be used since it would cause too much devastation and was a waste of money. But it was too big a concept for the military to ignore and it went forward. In retrospect he has been correct, in fact since Japan in 1945, almost 60 years ago, no nuclear weapon of any type has been used.

Some of the facts reviewed in the book seem to back up Oppenheimer's concern that things might get out of control. We learn that the US produced 70,000 nuclear weapons, almost one bomb for every 2000 people in the USSR, and the total cost was 5.5 trillion dollars. It is no wonder the USSR went broke as they tried to keep up. Also, that sum is about equal, but slightly less than the total US government debt today, a staggering number. Now, as Oppenheimer had feared the technology is spreading.

This is an excellent book on Oppenheimer, but ignore the hype, it is not the only book.

5 stars - great read.

Biographies & Memoirs Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in NY Public Library's "Books to Remember" 2005
The War Works Hard ImageThe War Works Hard
by Dunya Mikhail
New Directions Publishing Corporation; Published: 2005-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.30
Price in other shops: $13.95
Windows on the World: A Novel ImageWindows on the World: A Novel
by Frederic Beigbeder
Miramax; Published: 2005-03-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $1.99
Price in other shops: $24.95
Vindication: A Life of Mary Wollstonecraft ImageVindication: A Life of Mary Wollstonecraft
by Lyndall Gordon
HarperCollins; Published: 2005-05-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $1.04
Price in other shops: $29.95
The Tattoo Artist: A Novel ImageThe Tattoo Artist: A Novel
by Jill Ciment
Pantheon; Published: 2005-08-23; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $0.01
Price in other shops: $23.00
A Sudden Country: A Novel ImageA Sudden Country: A Novel
by Karen Fisher
Random House; Published: 2005-08-16; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.19
Price in other shops: $24.95
Jack and Other New Poems ImageJack and Other New Poems
by Maxine Kumin
W. W. Norton & Company; Published: 2005-01-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $41.32
Small Island: A Novel ImageSmall Island: A Novel
by Andrea Levy
Picador; Published: 2005-04-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.94
Price in other shops: $14.00
Luck Is Luck: Poems (Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award) ImageLuck Is Luck: Poems (Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award)
by Lucia Perillo
Random House; Published: 2005-03-22; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.94
Price in other shops: $19.95
On Beauty ImageOn Beauty
by Zadie Smith
Penguin Press HC, The; Published: 2005-09-13; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.98
Price in other shops: $25.95
Japanland: A Year in Search of Wa ImageJapanland: A Year in Search of Wa
by Karin Muller
Rodale Books; Published: 2005-10-12; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.95
Price in other shops: $23.95
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
Outliers: The Story of Success ImageOutliers: The Story of Success
by Malcolm Gladwell
Little, Brown and Company; Published: 2008-11-18; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.39
Price in other shops: $27.99
American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House (New York Times Notable Books) ImageAmerican Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House (New York Times Notable Books)
by Jon Meacham
Random House Trade Paperbacks; Published: 2009-04-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.26
Price in other shops: $18.00
Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA ImageLegacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA
by Tim Weiner
Anchor; Published: 2008-05-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.63
Price in other shops: $16.95
Arsenals of Folly: The Making of the Nuclear Arms Race (Vintage) ImageArsenals of Folly: The Making of the Nuclear Arms Race (Vintage)
by Richard Rhodes
Vintage; Published: 2008-11-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.50
Price in other shops: $15.95
Polio: An American Story ImagePolio: An American Story
by David M. Oshinsky
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2006-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.99
Price in other shops: $16.95
109 East Palace: Robert Oppenheimer and the Secret City of Los Alamos Image109 East Palace: Robert Oppenheimer and the Secret City of Los Alamos
by Jennet Conant
Simon & Schuster; Published: 2006-05-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.25
Price in other shops: $14.00
Einstein: His Life and Universe ImageEinstein: His Life and Universe
by Walter Isaacson
Simon & Schuster; Published: 2008-05-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.93
Price in other shops: $17.95
Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb ImageDark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb
by Richard Rhodes
Simon & Schuster; Published: 1996-08-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.92
Price in other shops: $18.95
The Manhattan Project: The Birth of the Atomic Bomb in the Words of Its Creators, Eyewitnesses, and Historians ImageThe Manhattan Project: The Birth of the Atomic Bomb in the Words of Its Creators, Eyewitnesses, and Historians
Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers; Published: 2009-02-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.20
Price in other shops: $17.95
The Making of the Atomic Bomb ImageThe Making of the Atomic Bomb
by Richard Rhodes
Simon & Schuster; Published: 1995-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.95
Price in other shops: $20.00