American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer Paperback – 15 Jun. 2023

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was nice to see some physics in it which some books omit. If you have an interest in history, physics, world war 2 then this book is perfect for you.

One of best documentary- biography book of our time and the most vital issues of our world today, nuclear weapons and very real danger of nuclear war. The book also nicely pictures the society, both the Jewish community ofvthe time in US, which is totally different than today, and scientific community, as well as the horror of Mccarthism in US, which strongly resembles some of the trends which we see today. The book is excellently written and must read for all of us.

No doubt, like me, many of you reading this will be looking at this due to the Oppenheimer film, which got most of its information from this. Is it worth the read? Yes, but it isn't an easy one. God knows how much work and effort went into making this account. It is heavy yet fascinating reading, especially about the father of the nuclear bomb. It is in many ways a telling of his entire life story. Well written. Would very much recommend this.

Very well written about Oppenheimer and his not good with women. He was able to understand language in two months. An amazing intellectual. He didn't quite understand the ends how nuclear bombs were used and deterrence. He loved New Mexico and hated Washington. Bird understands the politics of leftish in 1930s. Oppenheimer understood the disaster in Russia and Nazism where he half understood what was happening to many of their family in Germany. However he spend so much of the disasters of Spanish Civil War with his university leftish friends. Oppenheimer never understood politics and this that destroyed his life. Of course he created Los Alamos but without the doughty Groves who also created the life. Bird is a leftish analyst and a good family. Without Eisenhower and his cronies could have the wasteful and dangerous the nuke policy of the 1950s? I don"t think so. Noland had for ten years ago for the book.The book is truthful and tragic like Oppenheimer. His book is important for our lives and my mine

This is the first complete account of the life of Oppenheimer, the bomb, the nature of his genius and the failure of those in control to understand his deeper moral insight. Right now, the same test faces the millions of Americans: half of whom believe Trump's idiotic beliefs without a scrap of evidence. Why? Because of a defective education system. It does not produce people who are able to see through the lies told by vested interests.This book is riveting. We get a very clear idea of Oppie, the immense power of mind he had which even developed fresh gifts under the pressure to build the bomb before the Nazis. His gift of handling everybody he dealt with: astonishing this is. The stupidity of those in control, like Eisenhower. The US military are not equipped. When did they ever not mess up?The two authors have given a very precise account of everything that matters, maybe too much at times, for we do not need it all. Alas, the 700 pp of the paperback are printed so close to the spine that it spoils the read. It cannot be read. See pp 64,66.William W.C. Scott

Excellent read

A good in depth look into the drivers, ethics and motivations for building and using the A bomb. The tragedy of the death and destruction brought on by use of the Atomic bomb is assessed both from those morally against and those excited by what it meant as a weapon to dominate others and the initiation of the inexorable journey of humanity towards its own extinction.

Even if you have seen the “movie” a dozen times, you will love this book. There is so much more that Martin Sherwin discovered in his 20-years of research.The next 5-years was writing it up with Kai Bird!One line from the book: geniuses like Leonardo and Robert Oppie are few & far between.