American Prometheus (2005) - Kai Bird & Martin J. Sherwin

“There are no secrets about the world of nature. There are secrets about the thoughts and intentions of men.”

Most people in this day and age, myself included, didn't necessarily know the name of J. Robert Oppenheimer until Christopher Nolan's brilliant film came out and swept the 2024 Oscars. However, back in the early 1950s he was probably the most famous person on planet earth. Described as the father of the nuclear bomb, his face was plastered the covers on publications like the coveted 'Time' magazine and his name was as recognisible as Michael Jackson in his prime. This book biographises his life in painstaking detail, leaving no stone unturned (some stones providing some rather startling), and piecing not only together the facts of a quite remarkable life, but also the philosophical matters that seems to endlessly follow the man in question. 

Born in New York City in the early 1900s to a family who came from nothing but had rose to prominence through much success in the booming textile industry, Robert showed intellectual promise from a young age and, as such, was enrolled into the Jewish Ethical School for Cultural Study. This place sounds like an absolute haven for bright young minds and reads like the sort of place you wish existed everywhere. Not only were they interested in teaching the ABCs of life, but also societal things like etiquette, politics, fine art and philosophy. It makes the local comprehensive I went to seem like an utter waste of time. From there Oppie, as he became later affectionately known, enrolled in Harvard and spent time in Berlin and Cambridge learning from the greatest theoretical physicists in the world. The rest, as they say, is academic history. Let me boil this part of the book down for you: he was very, very, bright. 

However, where other autobiographies tend to stick to facts like these as a means to piece together a person's life, this one continuously delves into the state of mind of Oppenheimer throughout the varying stages of his life. On this level, the amount of research that has gone into this piece is staggering. Through letters, interviews with friends, lovers and peers, you begin to really feel like you are delving into the very soul of J. Robert. During his tough college years, where the young man was, like many are at that age, stricken with social anxieties and a crippling lack of confidence, you really feel like you are with him every step of the way. He goes from being this mythical figure responsible for the nuclear bomb, to a regular human being. This is a credit to Bird & Sherwin, because they really have put together a vivid and detailed picture of a man in whole, and it all makes for a much more interesting read. 

Of course, at some point, Oppie himself began to rise to prominence as a great, pioneering theoretical physicist himself. Drawing attention from the likes of Niels Bohr and Albert Einstein, he quickly found himself becoming a professor of physics at prestigious institutes like CalTech and Berkeley. However, also during this time, he was in all sorts of bother in his personal life and had a suspiciously strong association with the Communist Party. These two things that haunted him throughout his days, particularly later during his security hearing. Bizarrely, despite being a rail-thin fella with a mop of bushy hair, Oppie was apparently quite the ladies man. His doomed relationship with staunch Communist Jean Tatlock being one that lingered long beyond her suicide in 1944. Although there is potential evidence contained within this book that suggests it may not have been as cut and dry as suicide at all. Indeed most of the events in Oppenheimer's life, and by virtue this book, seem to have a shadowy underbelly at the heart of them. There is the constant feeling of increasing government intrusion in not only his life but those around him and there is certainly a paranoid, murky, tone to much of the book. Which, considering the man should probably be considered a national hero, makes for an uncomfortable, but completely engrossing read. 

Then comes his recruitment by General Leslie Groves and the Manhattan project, leading eventually to the thrilling Trinity test and the horrendous use of this military might against the unsuspecting citizens of Japan. Here the book begins to wrestle with the utter moral quandary that comes with inventing a weapon of such magnitude. When beginning the project, Oppenheimer fully believes he is engaging with an effort to beat the Nazis to the punch and save the world from catastrophe and fascist German rule. However, the nuclear bombs weren't dropped until after the Germans had been well defeated and there is some seriously difficult political terrain to navigate with regards to Russia. Even though they were technically an ally during WWII, there is a major concern among the nuclear encampment about Soviet spies and the leaking of information etc. Thus the dropping of Atom Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki become more a show of power than an actual necessity. This fact, it seems, sort of destroys Oppenheimer. Evidenced by the quote he thought of during the enormous flash of light the Trinity Test brought forth into the world - "Now I am become death. Destroyer of worlds." It's hard to argue that although Robert had a flair for the mystical and certainly the dramatic, the fact that these words are what came to mind during the apex of his career is deeply telling. 

Post-WWII, Oppenheimer is increasingly subject to slander and questions regarding his past. This culminates in his security clearance hearing of 1954, which is heartbreaking and proves to be not much more than a public flogging by enemies he made within the US Government - namely Lewis Strauss. He is stripped of clearance, and with it any glory that may have come from the success of the Manhattan project. As his friend Einstein puts it "Robert is love with a girl, the USA, who doesn't love him back." While there is a certain amount of truth to this, the book does such a great job of putting together a portrait of Oppenheimer the man, that there are many questions surrounding this section of his life. He could've easily told the government to do one and gone about his days basking in the glow of his fame. However, you can't help feeling that the path of martyrdom was chosen because, on some subconscious level, this would elevate his legend as a great man who fell from grace due to forces beyond his control. As someone with a flair for drama and seemingly very aware of his own legacy at every turn, this wouldn't be out of character. Or maybe he was genuinely haunted by what he had done. There would certainly be ample evidence for that being the case as he slowly retreated from life, spending the last years of his life in an isolated village on the island of St. Kitts. Only the man himself knew, but this examination of his life certainly asks all of these important questions and almost demands you do the same. 

To be able to even think of things along these lines is a great credit to the writers of this massive, thick as two bricks, masterwork. It is so densely packed that I thought twice, or maybe three times, before attempting it and I'm not ashamed to admit that I used the audiobook to supplement the experience. Otherwise I'd probably be still slogging through it in the year 2098. But the volume here isn't for the sake of being high-brow, there is just so much to deal with when examining this man's life. Theoretical physics is baffling enough, but you throw in a race against the Germans, the fallout with Russia, McCarthyism and the witch-hunting political climate of 1950s USA, affairs, intrigue, some of the most brilliant minds ever pondering things beyond most people's scope of understanding, and you are in for quite the head-spin. It is incredibly ripe and dense material, marking one of the few where such length is justified. None of it really drags or wanes under the sheer amount of pages. That said, this book should still not be considered for a light or one for faint of heart. It is a beast. But if you do decide to take the plunge, it is a truly fascinating piece of work and shines a light on many intricacies of one of the most important, if not the most important, times in our history. Nolan did a wonderful job adapting this monster and getting to it's essence, but there is so much more here to be mined. As a history text, it should probably be mandatory reading for school curriculums everywhere, as it does such a masterful job of getting to the human consequence of massive historical events. All of which really leaves a mark. I personally found it a thoroughly rewarding experience and feel probably at least 2% less of a muppet for having read it. A marathon of a book and well worthy of the pain endured to finish it. 

★★★★☆

JB.