American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer

The first comprehensive biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the scientist and "father of the atomic bomb," who spearheaded the endeavor to harness the sun's incredible energy for his nation at a time of war, is called American Prometheus. He rose to prominence as the most well-known scientist of his time just after Hiroshima. He is regarded as one of the twentieth century's most iconic personalities, representing contemporary man facing the repercussions of scientific advancement.

He was the creator of a novel notion that is still applicable today: worldwide regulations over atomic materials. His intentions to conduct an endlessly deadly nuclear war against the Air Force were challenged, and he opposed the development of the hydrogen bomb. His theories were diametrically opposed by strong proponents of a massive nuclear buildup in the now-nearly forgotten hysteria of the early 1950s. As a result, Lewis Strauss, the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, Edward Teller, a proponent of the superbomb, and J. Edgar Hoover, the director of the FBI, worked behind the scenes to have a hearing board conclude that Oppenheimer could not be trusted with America's nuclear secrets.

In illuminating and hitherto unheard-of detail, Oppenheimer's life and times are presented in American Prometheus. Thoroughly investigated, it draws on tens of thousands of documents and correspondence obtained from domestic and international archives, vast FBI dossiers, and almost a hundred conversations with Oppenheimer's associates, acquaintances, and family members.

We follow him from his early schooling at the Ethical Culture School in New York City at the start of the 20th century, through his personal difficulties at Harvard and Cambridge universities. Next, he moved to Germany to study quantum physics under some of the most accomplished theorists in the world. Later, he settled in Berkeley, California, where he founded the preeminent American theoretical physics school in the 1930s and got closely involved with proponents of social justice, many of whom were communists. Next, he traveled to Los Alamos, New Mexico, where he turned a desolate mesa into the most powerful nuclear weapons laboratory in the world—a place where he too underwent a metamorphosis. Lastly, he led the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study from 1947 to 1966.

Richly evoking America in the middle of the 20th century, American Prometheus presents a fresh and engrossing portrayal of a clever, ambitious, multifaceted, and imperfect man who was closely linked to the country's pivotal moments—the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War. It is both a biography and a history, and it is crucial to our comprehension of both the recent past and the decisions we will make going forward.