The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer
Ratings52
Average rating4.2
THE INSPIRATION FOR THE 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
Reviews with the most likes.
An amazing biography of an amazing man....a patriot, a scientist, a philosopher. The world might not ever see a man like him again.
Good but read The Making of the Atomic Bomb instead
The bomb is used halfway through this book and the rest is about the tragedy of the McCarthy era. It includes a play-by-play of terrible moments in anti-communist fear mongering. It's worthwhile history though not nearly as interesting as the complexities of Oppenheimer's success in leading scientists with competing egos under immense pressure.
I knew of the atomic bombings from the Japanese side but going into this book I didn't know about Oppenheimer (the “father of the atomic bomb”) so I learnt a lot. However at 600 pages this book is very dense, which I guess serves its purpose as a very-detailed biography. I do wish it was a bit easier to read, though!