American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird, Martin J. Sherwin Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer
Book Review: Extremely interesting
Summary: 5 Stars
This new biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer ("the father of the atom bomb") is extremely interesting, well researched and well written.- It is the tragic history of an outstanding personality and scientist, of his triumphs over adversity, and then of the drama of being relentlessly persecuted by envious enemies who succeed in causing his lonely downfall.- A dramatic story which informs about the scientific effort at Los Alamos trying successfully to get a working bomb before the Nazis do.- In the end it is used not again the Nazis, as had been the intention, but, having ended the war in Europe, against the Japanese.- After Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the end of the war there comes the
self-searching of the inventor and his ruthless persecution.- A "Must Read".-
Book Review: First rate biography
Summary: 4 Stars
This is an excellent biography of Oppenheimer.While it seems likely the authors started out sympathetic towards their subject it seems to be a fairly well balanced book which tends to focus on his associations and his friends and whether he could be considered a national security threat as he was eventually found to be. In that sense the book can be considered to be political in nature. However it is very well researched and written and the authours conclusions seem reasonable. From its first pages the book makes clear that the ultimate issue the book will consider is the reasonableness of the governments decision to pull Oppenheimers security clearance. The actions of the goverment seem almost ridiculous now but a weakness of the book is the failure to consider the "tenor of the times". It is always easy to Monday morning quarterback. Even given this the conclusions of the authors that pulling Oppenheimers clearance was unsupported by the facts should have been obvious even under the then existing political climate. All in all a very good book.Book Review: From Hero To Fall Guy
Summary: 4 Stars
This painstakingly researched biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer, father of the atomic bomb, provides the reader with a deeply personal account of this complex, conflicted man. From a very young age, Oppie showed both signs of brilliance and awkwardness. He presented a frail appearance, but was not lacking in physical courage or stamina. He loved science, but also had a deep appreciation for the arts. As chief scientist for the Manhattan Project, his work was directly responsible for the deaths of nearly a quarter of a million civilians, yet he was a man of compassion and empathy.
Oppie never approached his work in physics as a job or a career; it was his quest. He worked determinedly and tirelessly on the problems he faced, and his brilliant intellect often led to insights that other highly skilled researchers had missed. Having led the team that developed the atomic bombs that ended WWII, he was seen as a hero by the American public. But stormclouds gathered on the horizon. Despite his unbroken record of loyalty to his country, his left-leaning political views put him at odds with the McCarthyite witch hunters of the 1950's. Facing manufactured charges that he was a security risk, his clearance was revoked and his influence in the realm of nuclear physics was put to a swift end by politicians looking for a high-profile target.
Bird and Sherwin have produced what will probably be recognized as the definitive biography of this fascinating, yet tragic giant of science and history.
Book Review: Good read
Summary: 4 Stars
I was very much looking forward to reading this book, and it didn't disappoint. The authors have done an excellent job of sifting through an enormous mass of evidence. Their use of this evidence is judicious, and their portrait of the man compelling. It is well worth reading.
I have only one criticism. The reader of this book will learn virtually nothing about quantum mechanics, the area of physics in which Oppenheimer made his reputation. That seems a pity. I'm not suggesting a textbook treatment, but more about the physics would have added further depth and interest for non-technical readers (like me). For this reason, I have to say that even though I think Oppenheimer is a much more interesting figure than Richard Feynman, the biography of Feynman by James Gleick is overall more successful than "American Prometheus."
Book Review: Good, but better balance would have made it a better book
Summary: 4 Stars
In his memoir of Enrico Fermi, Emilio Segre (who won a Nobel Prize in physics) wrote of Oppenheimer, "His prestige and ascendancy were great among his close entourage, but he sometimes appeared amateurish and snobbish to people more remote from him, who were not under the spell of his personality."
Indeed, there are times when it appears that the authors themselves are among those "under the spell of his personality."
"He was America's Prometheus, 'the father of the atomic bomb,' who had led the effort to wrest from nature the awesome fire of the sun for his country in a time of war." from the Preface, xi
If anyone deserved the label of father of the atomic bomb, it would be Leo Szilard. In the early 1930s, he developed (and patented) the concept of the nuclear chain reaction. In 1939, he authored the Einstein-Szilard letter, which convinced FDR to begin a nuclear weapons program. Without Szilard, there may not have been a Manhattan Project. Without Oppenheimer, there would have been no Manhattan Project at Los Alamos.
[In "Adventures of a Mathematician" Stan Ulam tells how various lead scientists (most notably Lawrence and Oppenheimer) on the Manhattan Project tried to claim primary credit for the atomic bomb, much to the amusement of Ulam and John Von Neumann. Ulam even made up a song about it. Of Oppenheimer's recollection that at the Trinity test he was reminded of the lines from the Bhagavad-Gita, "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." Von Neumann commented, "Some people profess guilt to claim credit for the sin."]
As for American Prometheus, the metaphor doesn't work. Oppenheimer wasn't punished for heading a team that figuratively brought fire to man. He was praised and rewarded for it. The revocation of Oppenheimer's security clearance was unjust, but this was widely recognized at the time. Many were sympathetic to his plight, and he continued to enjoy wide admiration among influential scientists and politicians. And the rock to which he was chained was a 5 bathroom mansion on the campus of Princeton University.
The books captures Oppenheimer's brilliance, but seems to imply that Oppenheimer spun out revolutionary ideas and then left cleaning up the details to lesser folks. I wish the book had explored the seeming gap between the nature of Oppenheimer's brilliance (great critical ability and a very quick mind) and his actual achievements as a physicist. Was it the diverse interests that distracted him from focusing long and deeply enough to achieve great science? Did Oppenheimer sense he lacked the sort of genius for original thinking needed to ascend to the highest levels of theoretical physics, and so seek out distractions?
It wouldn't be surprising if Oppenheimer's early friendship with Dirac left him wondering whether he was really good enough. Less from Robert Serber and others in Oppenheimer's entourage and more from the likes of Feynman, Dirac, Wigner, Pauli, Born, Fermi, Von Neumann, and Heisenberg would have added greatly to the portrait. But that picture would perhaps have been less complimentary than the authors wanted.
Still, a good book and well worth reading, but with a grain of salt.