American Prometheus
LC Class | QC16.O62 B57 2005 |
American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer is a 2005
The book chronicles Oppenheimer's rise to fame as "the father of the atomic bomb" and director of the Manhattan Project, as well as his tragic downfall due to his
The book served as inspiration for Christopher Nolan's 2023 biographical film Oppenheimer, starring Cillian Murphy as Oppenheimer.
Summary
The book includes five parts on different stages of Oppenheimer's life, as well as a prologue and epilogue.
Prologue
The prologue describes Oppenheimer's funeral and frames Oppenheimer's life as one of triumph and tragedy, a life of enigma, complexity, humanity, and love for his country. The prologue explains that the book is an attempt to elucidate Oppenheimer's life.
Part 1
Part one of the book begins tracing Oppenheimer's childhood and early education at the
The authors recount Oppenheimer's emotional crisis at the
Part 2
While a professor at Berkeley, Oppenheimer began an intense relationship with graduate student
Despite Oppenheimer's activism, the book points out that his exact relationship with the communist party remains unclear. Reports of friends and associates such as
With new developments in fission research and the United States' entrance into the war, Oppenheimer shifted away from union organization and cut off communist friends, believing that otherwise, the government would not allow him to work on a fission bomb project. Oppenheimer was convinced that the acquisition of the bomb before the Nazis was essential, even if there were a remote possibility the bomb could ignite the atmosphere. In spite of having no army security clearance, he became a key intellectual leader in the top secret research "
Leslie Groves was selected to lead the Manhattan Project to develop the first nuclear bomb. Impressed by Oppenheimer, Groves appointed him director of the Radiation Lab despite significant opposition that Oppenheimer was too impractical.
Part two ends by portraying what would be called the Chevalier Affair. Although many versions of the story exist, sources confirm that a friend asked Oppenheimer to provide confidential information for the Soviets, which Oppenheimer outright rejected. The affair would later become a crucial issue in Oppenheimer's security hearing.
Part 3
At Los Alamos, Oppenheimer became the scientific director of the Manhattan Project and transformed into a charismatic, effective, organized administrator and patriotic leader. The book highlights how tight security, excess secrecy, and constant military surveillance burdened Oppenheimer and other scientists. Nevertheless, Oppenheimer met Jean Tatlock several times before discontinuing the relationship, after which she committed suicide.
Despite suspicion and doubts by subordinates, Oppenheimer eventually acquired a security clearance but soon after told authorities about the Chevalier incident. While Groves believed Oppenheimer and Oppenheimer asserted there was no security threat, Oppenheimer's decision to tell the story would become disastrous for his security hearing. Bird and Sherwin argue that Oppenheimer was committed to his trustworthiness as a scientist and the project's success rather than to an invariable loyalty to the United States.
Niels Bohr came to Los Alamos to discuss the implications of the bomb. He argued for openness to avoid a post-war nuclear arms race with Russia, a policy Oppenheimer would later promote. As one student noted, "Bohr was God, and Oppie was his prophet."[4] The scientists at Los Alamos continued discussions on the moral and political ramifications of the "gadget" or atomic bomb.
After the defeat of the Nazis, colleagues of Oppenheimer began to doubt the purpose of the bomb and debated whether to use the bomb without warning or have a demonstration of the bomb for Japan. Oppenheimer supported the immediate use of the bomb, believing it might end all wars. Bird and Sherwin claim that Oppenheimer was unaware of any surrender talks by the Japanese.
The book describes the influential presence of Oppenheimer in the physical production of the bomb. After some crisis about the bomb design, Oppenheimer pressed for the
Part 4
The book continues by exploring the events following the Trinity Test. Oppenheimer was aware of possible targets in Japan and would play a vital part in the efficiency of the atomic bombings of
Considered the father of the atomic bomb, Oppenheimer became a celebrity, icon, and a scientist-statesman who was now influential in American politics. Oppenheimer hoped using the bombs would prevent a nuclear arms race with Russia. He urged for a transparent international regulation of atomic weapons and energy but soon supported a more conservative defensive stance to proliferate American nuclear weapons due to apparent ideological differences between Russia and the United States.
As chairman of the General Advisory Committee (GAC) of the Atomic Energy Commission, Oppenheimer opposed the accelerated construction of the Super (
Increased political influence led to greater surveillance by the FBI led by
Oppenheimer accepted an offer as director of the
The book also covers the stormy relationship between
Part 5
The last part of the book deals primarily with Oppenheimer's
Oppenheimer's security clearance was revoked, and he became in the public eye a scientist-martyr and victim of McCarthyism. According to Bird and Sherwin, the hearing was a crucial turning point in the relations between scientists and the government and proved a defeat for American liberalism. Although an "exiled intellectual," he would continue to lecture, write and give speeches.[9] Oppenheimer would eventually receive the Enrico Fermi Award, but only over fifteen years after the Trinity Test.
Epilogue
The epilogue covers the lives of Oppenheimer's family and children after his death from
Production
Historian
In 1999 Sherwin invited his friend, writer and editor Kai Bird,[11] who had already written two political biographies,[10] to join him and put it together in a cohesive and readable format. At first Bird refused, but eventually agreed to work on the book, and both authors signed a new contract with Knopf, for a further $290,000. Bird wrote drafts that were then reviewed and rewritten by Sherwin.[11]
The working title of the book was Oppie, but that was vetoed by their editor. Susan Goldmark, Bird's wife, suggested the new title: "
Reception
The biography was praised by critics. The Boston Globe wrote that the book "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."[11] Janet Maslin wrote in her The New York Times review that "American Prometheus aligns its subject's most critical decisions with both his early education and his ultimate unraveling. It succeeds in deeply fathoming his most damaging, self-contradictory behavior." She noted that it is "a thorough examination and synthesis, sometimes overwhelming in its detail".[16] Another reviewer notes that "there is no mathematics and very little physics. There is little about the engineering of the 'gadget' tested in the New Mexico desert on July 16, 1945."[17]
But it is Oppenheimer the man, not general ideas about the
, whom he simply threw to the Red-hunting wolves.
Frank A. Settle called the book "meticulously researched" and "the most comprehensive biography to date".[18] Braham Dabscheck notes the "scholarship of the highest order".[12] John S. Rigden calls the book "well written and almost free of serious errors", and that "reading this worthy book is a gripping experience: It stimulates the mind and stirs the emotions."[19]
Thomas A. Julian critiqued the book and the authors, writing that "[t]hey still assert, despite the conclusive evidence to the contrary ... that Japan was already defeated and wanted to 'surrender'", and that they "ignore disturbing evidence provided from former Soviet sources that Oppenheimer might have provided information to the Soviet Union about the U.S. atomic bomb project".[20]
Awards
- 2005 National Book Critics Circle Award[21][22]
- 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography[11]
- 2008 Duff Cooper Prize[23]
Film adaptation
British-American filmmaker
Nolan met with Bird as Sherwin had been diagnosed with cancer and was not able to travel.[13][1] Bird read the script prior to filming:[24]
"Nolan covers in a very deft way the argument among the physicists over whether the bomb was necessary or not and has Oppenheimer after Hiroshima saying the bomb was used on a virtually already defeated enemy," Bird adds. "People who know nothing about Oppenheimer will go thinking they're going to see a movie about the father of the atomic bomb." Instead, "they're going to see this mysterious figure and a deeply mysterious biographical story."
Budgeted at $100 million, the resulting film, titled Oppenheimer, was released on July 21, 2023, to critical and commercial acclaim. Written and directed by Nolan, it stars Cillian Murphy as Oppenheimer.[25]
Nolan said that "I don't think I ever would have taken this on without Kai and Martin's book", and Murphy said to Bird during production that the book is "mandatory reading around here".[11] According to Nolan, "he envisioned Oppenheimer not as a biography ('a formula that you write into can be creatively stifling') but more like "a thriller, a heist film, a courtroom drama".[1] Nolan also said:[26]
What I wanted to do was take the audience into the mind and the experience of a person who sat at the absolute center of the largest shift in history. Like it or not, J. Robert Oppenheimer is the most important person who ever lived. He made the world we live in, for better or for worse.
References
- ^ a b c Turan, Kenneth (July 11, 2023). "Christopher Nolan goes deep on 'Oppenheimer', his most 'extreme' film to date". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 15, 2023. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
- ^ Bird and Sherwin, p. 21
- ^ Bird and Sherwin, p. 135
- ^ Bird and Sherwin, p. 169, 268
- ^ Bird and Sherwin, p. 332
- ^ Bird and Sherwin, p. 436
- ^ Bird and Sherwin, p. 480
- ^ Bird and Sherwin, p. 543
- ^ Bird and Sherwin, p. 558
- ^ a b c d e f Powers, Thomas. "An American Tragedy". The New York Review. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Kifer, Andy (July 10, 2023). "Behind 'Oppenheimer,' a Prizewinning Biography 25 Years in the Making". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 11, 2023. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
- ^ JSTOR 41054066.
- ^ a b c Amsden, David (July 18, 2023). "Oppenheimer's big screen odyssey: The man, the book and the film's 50-year journey". The Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 18, 2023.
- ^ "Why Oppenheimer Was Called the 'American Prometheus'". MovieMaker. July 12, 2023. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
- ^ Rollyson, Carl (July 17, 2023). "New Film Offers Chance To Grapple With Oppenheimer's Communist Ties, Beyond the Martyrology of McCarthyism". The New York Sun. Archived from the original on August 15, 2023.
- ^ Maslin, Janet (April 21, 2005). "The Physics, Philosophy and, Literally, Dirty Laundry of Robert Oppenheimer". The New York Times. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
- ^ Buchan, James (February 2, 2008). "The burden of the bomb". The Guardian.
- S2CID 159516609. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
- .
- S2CID 159842110.
- ^ "Reviews: 'Robert Oppenheimer' by Ray Monk and 'An Atomic Love Story' by Shirley Streshinsky and Patricia Klaus". Chicago Tribune. November 10, 2013. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
- ^ "2005". National Book Critics Circle.
- ^ "1956–2016". The Pol Roger Duff Cooper Prize. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
- ^ Kifer, Andy. "The Real History Behind Christopher Nolan's 'Oppenheimer'". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
- ^ Kroll, Justin (October 8, 2021). "Cillian Murphy Confirmed to Star As J. Robert Oppenheimer In Christopher Nolan's Next Film At Universal, Film Will Bow in July 2023". Deadline. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
- ^ McCluskey, Megan (July 21, 2023). "Here's How Close 'Oppenheimer' Sticks to J. Robert Oppenheimer's Life". Time. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
Further reading
- ISBN 978-0385722049.[1]
- ISBN 978-0-385-50407-2.
- Monk, Ray (2012). Robert Oppenheimer: A Life Inside the Center. London: Jonathan Cape/Random House. ISBN 978-0224-062626.
- Thorpe, Charles (2006). Oppenheimer: The Tragic Intellect. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-79848-6.
- ISBN 978-1-4214-2567-2.
- ISBN 978-0-7156-3330-4.
- ISBN 978-0-8018-9317-9.
- ISBN 978-0-8050-6588-6.
- ISBN 978-0-671-65719-2.
- ISBN 978-0-395-30530-0.
- Pharr Davis, Nuel (1968). Lawrence and Oppenheimer. Simon & Schuster.
External links
- American Prometheus at the Internet Archive
- Presentation by Bird and Sherwin on American Prometheus, September 30, 2006, C-SPAN
- Oppie—"A very mysterious and delphic character." Interview with Kai Bird, co-author of American Prometheus for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
- Martin J. Sherwin Collection Relating to J. Robert Oppenheimer (Research material gathered for the writing of American Prometheus) at the Library of Congress
- ^ Maslin, Janet (May 27, 2013). "Rough-Edged Atomic Pioneer". The New York Times. Retrieved July 23, 2023.