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

Kai Bird, Martin J. Sherwin

Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Dec 18, 2007 - Biography & Autobiography - 784 pages

J. Robert Oppenheimer is 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.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

What people are saying

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

User Review  - Maggie Romer - Goodreads

This was a good recount of Oppenheimer's life and extremely thorough. The audiobook was a good 26 hours long. My complaints were mostly with the quality of the audio recording--the book itself was good, not too dry.

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

User Review  - Eddy Allen - Goodreads

"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 ...

About the author

Kai Bird is the author of The Chairman: John J. McCloy, The Making of the American Establishment and The Color of Truth: McGeorge Bundy and William Bundy, Brothers in Arms. He coedited with Lawrence Lifschultz Hiroshima’s Shadow: Writings on the Denial of History and the Smithsonian Controversy. A contributing editor of The Nation, he lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife and son.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Bibliographic information

• Title: American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer
• Authors: Kai Bird, Martin J. Sherwin
• Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2007
• ISBN: 0307424731, 9780307424730
• Length: 784 pages
• Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / Historical; Biography & Autobiography / Science & Technology