American Prometheus: The Inspiration for the Major Motion Picture OPPENHEIMERTHE 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 |
Contents
3 | |
9 | |
His Separate Prison | 29 |
Bohr Was God and Oppie Was His Prophet | 268 |
The Impact of the Gadget on Civilization | 277 |
Now Were All SonsofBitches | 290 |
Those Poor Little People | 313 |
People Could Destroy New York | 336 |
PART FIVE | 485 |
A Manifestation of Hysteria | 523 |
A Black Mark on the Escutcheon of Our Country | 538 |
It Was Really Like a NeverNeverLand | 566 |
It Should Have Been Done the Day After Trinity | 574 |
Theres Only One Robert | 589 |
Notes | 601 |
Oppie | 612 |
Oppie Had a Rash and Is Now Immune | 351 |
An Intellectual Hotel | 369 |
He Couldnt Understand Why He Did It | 391 |
He Never Let On What His Opinion Was | 416 |
Dark Words About Oppie | 431 |
Scientist X | 454 |
The Beast in the Jungle | 462 |
Frank Clipped It Out and Sent It | 619 |
We Were Pulling the New Deal to the Left | 626 |
Bibliography | 685 |
700 | |
704 | |
714 | |
Common terms and phrases
Acheson Alamos Alice Smith American asked atomic bomb atomic energy atomic weapons Berkeley Bethe Bohm Bohr Borden brother Chevalier Committee Communist Party Conant Crouch David David Lilienthal Day After Trinity diary Dyson Edward Teller Einstein Eisenhower Eltenton Ernest Lawrence felt Fergusson folder Frank Oppenheimer Groves Hans Bethe heimer Herken Hobson Hoover Institute interview by Sherwin Jean Jean Tatlock JRO FBI file JRO hearing JRO Papers Kennan Kitty knew Lansdale Lawrence letter Lewis Strauss Lilienthal Lomanitz Los Alamos loved meeting memo Nelson never nuclear weapons Oppen Oppenheimer's Oppie Oppie's Pash Peters Phil Morrison physicist physics political president Princeton quantum Rabi recalled replied Robb Robert Oppenheimer Robert Serber Russians scientists seemed Serber Sherr Smith and Weiner story Super Szilard talk Tatlock Teller things thought tion told Tolman Truman wanted Washington Weinberg Weisskopf Wilson York