American Prometheus

***THE INSPIRATION FOR OPPENHEIMER , WINNER OF 7 OSCARS, INCLUDING BEST PICTURE, BEST DIRECTOR AND BEST ACTOR *** THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR NONFICTION 'Reads like a thriller, gripping and terrifying' Sunday Times Physicist and polymath, as familiar with Hindu scriptures as he was with quantum mechanics, J. Robert Oppenheimer - director of the Manhattan Project that developed the atomic bomb - was the most famous scientist of his generation. In their meticulous and riveting biography, Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin reveal a brilliant, ambitious, complex and flawed man, profoundly involved with some of the momentous events of the twentieth century.

***THE INSPIRATION FOR OPPENHEIMER , WINNER OF 7 OSCARS, INCLUDING BEST PICTURE, BEST DIRECTOR AND BEST ACTOR *** THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR NONFICTION 'Reads like a thriller, gripping and terrifying' Sunday Times Physicist and polymath, as familiar with Hindu scriptures as he was with quantum mechanics, J. Robert Oppenheimer - director of the Manhattan Project that developed the atomic bomb - was the most famous scientist of his generation. In their meticulous and riveting biography, Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin reveal a brilliant, ambitious, complex and flawed man, profoundly involved with some of the momentous events of the twentieth century.

The inspiration for the major motion picture Oppenheimer, this is the definitive biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer, 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.American Prometheus is the first full-scale biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer, 'father of the atomic bomb,' the brilliant, charismatic physicist who led the effort to capture the awesome fire of the sun for his country in time of war.Immediately after Hiroshima, J. Robert Oppenheimer became the most famous scientist of his generation-one of the iconic figures of the twentieth century, the embodiment of modern man confronting the consequences of scientific progress.He was the author of a radical proposal to place international controls over atomic materials, an idea that is still relevant today. He opposed the development of the hydrogen bomb and criticized the Air Force's plans to fight an infinitely dangerous nuclear warIn the now almost-forgotten hysteria of the early 1950s, his ideas were anathema to powerful advocates of a massive nuclear buildup, and, in response, Atomic Energy Commission chairman Lewis Strauss, superbomb advocate Edward Teller, and FBI director J. Edgar Hoover worked behind the scenes to have a hearing board find that Oppenheimer could not be trusted with America's nuclear secrets.American Prometheus sets forth Oppenheimer's life and times in revealing and unprecedented detail. Exhaustively researched, it is based on thousands of records and letters gathered from archives in America and abroad, on massive FBI files, and on close to a hundred interviews with Oppenheimer's friends, relatives, and colleagues.The book follows him from his earliest education at the turn of the twentieth century at New York City's Ethical Culture School through personal crises at Harvard and Cambridge universities. Then to Germany, where he studied quantum physics with the world's most accomplished theorists; and to Berkeley, California, where he established, during the 1930s, the leading American school of theoretical physics and where he became deeply involved with social justice causes and their advocates, many of whom were communists.The book follows him to Los Alamos, New Mexico, he transformed a bleak mesa into the world's most potent nuclear weapons laboratory-and where he himself was transformed-and finally, to the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, which he directed from 1947 to 1966.American Prometheus is a rich evocation of America at midcentury, a compelling portrait of a brilliant, ambitious, complex, and flawed man profoundly connected to its major events: the Depression, World War II, and the Cold War. It is at once biography and history and is essential to our understanding of our recent past-and of our choices for the future.

The inspiration for the major motion picture Oppenheimer, this is the definitive biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer, 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.American Prometheus is the first full-scale biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer, 'father of the atomic bomb,' the brilliant, charismatic physicist who led the effort to capture the awesome fire of the sun for his country in time of war.Immediately after Hiroshima, J. Robert Oppenheimer became the most famous scientist of his generation-one of the iconic figures of the twentieth century, the embodiment of modern man confronting the consequences of scientific progress.He was the author of a radical proposal to place international controls over atomic materials, an idea that is still relevant today. He opposed the development of the hydrogen bomb and criticized the Air Force's plans to fight an infinitely dangerous nuclear warIn the now almost-forgotten hysteria of the early 1950s, his ideas were anathema to powerful advocates of a massive nuclear buildup, and, in response, Atomic Energy Commission chairman Lewis Strauss, superbomb advocate Edward Teller, and FBI director J. Edgar Hoover worked behind the scenes to have a hearing board find that Oppenheimer could not be trusted with America's nuclear secrets.American Prometheus sets forth Oppenheimer's life and times in revealing and unprecedented detail. Exhaustively researched, it is based on thousands of records and letters gathered from archives in America and abroad, on massive FBI files, and on close to a hundred interviews with Oppenheimer's friends, relatives, and colleagues.The book follows him from his earliest education at the turn of the twentieth century at New York City's Ethical Culture School through personal crises at Harvard and Cambridge universities. Then to Germany, where he studied quantum physics with the world's most accomplished theorists; and to Berkeley, California, where he established, during the 1930s, the leading American school of theoretical physics and where he became deeply involved with social justice causes and their advocates, many of whom were communists.The book follows him to Los Alamos, New Mexico, he transformed a bleak mesa into the world's most potent nuclear weapons laboratory-and where he himself was transformed-and finally, to the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, which he directed from 1947 to 1966.American Prometheus is a rich evocation of America at midcentury, a compelling portrait of a brilliant, ambitious, complex, and flawed man profoundly connected to its major events: the Depression, World War II, and the Cold War. It is at once biography and history and is essential to our understanding of our recent past-and of our choices for the future.

THE INSPIRATION FOR THE ACADEMY AWARD(R)-WINNING 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. A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of the Century 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

THE INSPIRATION FOR THE ACADEMY AWARD(R)-WINNING 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. A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of the Century 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