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American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer Audiobook
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(4.00) - 2,948 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
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 war
In 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.
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"Spectacular biography. Rather depressing however, since one knows the ending it appears to be a long discussion of just how things can go wrong for all the wrong reasons. The nastiness of those in power can be overwhelming and the pettiness of some of our "leaders" is distressing."
— John (5 out of 5 stars)
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“[A] stunning blockbuster…[from] two accomplished Cold War historians.”
— Foreign Affairs -
“A masterpiece of scholarship and riveting writing.”
— Chicago Tribune -
“The definitive biography…Oppenheimer’s life doesn’t influence us. It haunts us.”
— Newsweek -
“Stands as an Everest among the mountains of books on the bomb project and Oppenheimer and is an achievement not likely to be surpassed or equaled.”
— Boston Globe -
“A work of voluminous scholarship and lucid insight, unifying its multifaceted portrait with a keen grasp of Oppenheimer’s essential nature.”
— New York Times -
“Superb…A vivid portrait is painted of a charismatic, immensely human theoretical physicist.”
— Miami Herald -
“A masterful account…A tour de force.”
— Los Angeles Times Book Review -
“The book’s scope transcends the usual bounds of biography and illuminates a critical time in American history.”
— Bookmarks -
“[A] profoundly fascinating, richly complex, and ineffably sad American life…Bird and Sherwin are without peer…in capturing the humanity of the man.”
— Booklist (starred review) -
“Oppenheimer’s triumphs and trials show how public policy, scientific genius, and private character become interwoven.”
— Walter Isaacson, #1 New York Times bestselling author
Awards
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Winner of the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Biography
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Winner of the 2005 National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography
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Winner of the 2006 Ambassador Book Award for Biography/Autobiography
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A Time Magazine Top 10 Book of the Year
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A New York Times Notable Book
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A #1 Amazon bestseller in Audiobooks
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A Barnes & Noble Pick of This Week's Top 10 Most Popular Books
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A Top 10 Bookstat Bestseller in Audiobooks
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A San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year
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A #1 New York Times bestseller
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A Barnes & Noble bestseller
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An Audible.com bestseller
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A USA Today bestseller
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A #1 New York Times Bestseller in Audio
American Prometheus Listener Reviews
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jeff fluckiger, 2/7/2024
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Edward Winterberger, 10/10/2023
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" This was a very interesting book with a lot of nice detail on the life of Oppenheimer. If I have any complaint it is that it was written from a particular point of view regarding the Cold War and the associated nuclear arms race between the United States and the [former] Soviet Union. It supposes a unrealistic alternate history in which, right after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki the United States and the Soviet Union would have agreed to international control of nuclear weapons, in fact of all nuclear technology. When one hear all the conspiracy theories from people in the United Sates about the United Nations the idea that that idea could have been sold to the American people when we were dealing with Stalin's U.S.S.R. is a fairy tale. Same for the idea that Stalin would ever have been willing to open Russian society to international influence. "
— Joseph, 2/16/2014 -
" Actually brought me near tears at certain points. Deep research and (pretty) lucid writing combines stories of science, the Cold War and nuclear disarmament in one captivating (tragic) epic. "
— Jonathan, 1/30/2014 -
" Some parts are absolutely fascinating and detailed to the extreme. But his politics and connection ( or not) to the Communist Party went on and on. Iost interest during those sections. Writing style is excellent. "
— Margy, 1/30/2014 -
" The book as thick and heavy and deep as Oppenheimer's life. "
— Kyoungjin, 1/21/2014 -
" This was a fascinating read - a true tragedy of Lear proportions. The man himself was complex and clearly a towering figure of the 20th century and his story is captured and told brilliantly. "
— Alasdair, 1/15/2014 -
" Bird and Sherwin don't flinch from the most uncomfortable details of Oppenheimer's professional life as an academic and scientist-statesman, until it read (to me) as a cautionary tale. Strong work. "
— Corynn, 1/15/2014 -
" An excellent biography of "the father of the atomic bomb." Also serves as an instructive political history of the United States from the Depression to the early Cold War. "
— Peter, 1/11/2014 -
" I enjoyed this book and certainly learned a lot about genius and what that means in relation to others and the world. It certainly leads to the question of genius and madness as two sides of the same coin. "
— Nathan, 12/19/2013 -
" couldn't finish it. read well over 400pp and was bored silly. "comprehensive" doesn't necessarily mean entertaining. avoid it. "
— Gregg, 11/9/2013 -
" FBI wiretaps, pillorying dissenters against the nation's rising militarism, and personal vendettas made political? Some things just don't change. Definitely a solid read for anyone interested in the science and politics of nuclear weapons. "
— Jessica, 8/22/2013 -
" An excellent portrayal of the father of the atomic bomb, both his rise to success and his fall from it. It weaves together his story with the disturbing story of 1940s and 50s America and the Red Scare that dominated the political landscape. "
— Jackson, 5/28/2013 -
" This was a fascinating 600 page biography of a man and the times in which he lived. he was both brilliant and flawed, but what a mind! He made a Faustian deal and paid dearly for it. "
— MJ, 3/14/2013 -
" Fascinating individual "
— Ed, 11/29/2012 -
" The voluminous biography of the man who once said "I am become Death, Destroyer of Worlds" "
— Gordon, 7/22/2012 -
" I could not put it down. Excellent biography and important chronicle of our recent history. Moving. "
— Claire, 5/29/2012 -
" A dense book packed with information about all of Oppenheimer's life. Fairly light on the science part, but lots of information about what happened before and after the bomb. Will be very helpful when teaching my unit on the atomic age. "
— Katie, 12/10/2011 -
" This book was remarkably good. I owned it for years, and think I never picked it up because I was intimidated by the subject (and its number of pages). Really good, and a bit sad. "
— Michael, 12/6/2011 -
" I started listening to this book, then something went awry with the CDs so I set it aside until I could download it to my MP3. Have to get back to it. It's HUGE and well-researched and really interesting. "
— Chris, 4/12/2011 -
" Great book offering a window not only into a brilliant mind but also into a pivotal time in history. "
— Jolynne, 2/26/2011 -
" As with many biographies a fascinating insight into a part of history. As a mainly American history it covers science, WWI, WWII, Communism, McCarthyism, the development of the bomb, amongst many others. I did find it a little long and repetitive in sections but I'm glad I stuck with it. "
— Anne-marie, 2/23/2011 -
" This was a fascinating read - a true tragedy of Lear proportions. The man himself was complex and clearly a towering figure of the 20th century and his story is captured and told brilliantly. "
— Alasdair, 2/6/2011 -
" couldn't finish it. read well over 400pp and was bored silly. "comprehensive" doesn't necessarily mean entertaining. avoid it. "
— Gregg, 12/1/2010 -
" So interesting! I could hardly put it down "
— Annie, 11/29/2010 -
" Revealing in terms of character and history. Not exactly a page-turner, but an interesting biography<br/>of a complex and impenetrable man. "
— Lee, 11/25/2010
About the Authors
Kai Bird is the coauthor, with Martin J. Sherwin, of the Pulitzer Prize–winning biography American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, which also won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography. His other books include The Chairman: John J. McCloy and the Making of the American Establishment and The Color of Truth: McGeorge Bundy and William Bundy, Brothers in Arms. Bird’s many honors include fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the German Marshall Fund, and the Rockefeller Foundation. A contributing editor for the Nation, he lives in Kathmandu, Nepal, with his wife and son.
Martin J. Sherwin, George Mason University professor of history, is the author of A World Destroyed: Hiroshima and Its Legacies, winner of the Stuart L. Bernath and the American History Book prizes, and the coauthor, with Kai Bird, of American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, which won the Pulitzer Prize for biography in 2006.
About Jeff Cummings
Jeff Cummings, as an audiobook narrator, has won both an Earphones Award and the prestigious Audie Award in 2015 for Best Narration in Science and Technology. He is also a twenty-year veteran of the stage, having worked at many regional theaters across the country, from A Contemporary Theatre in Seattle and the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta to the Utah Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City and the International Mystery Writers’ Festival in Owensboro, Kentucky. He also spent seven seasons with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.