Tag Archives: book review

Oppenheimer and character assassination

September 6th, 2008 | Posted in Uncategorized

Another anecdote from “American Prometheus”…
In the 1950s, at the height of the red scare, Oppenheimer was targeted by the hardline anti-Communist & pro-nuclear establishment for suspicion of being a Communist sympathizer. In his youth, he had been a “fellow traveler” with many Communists and hard-leftists (aligned politically but never a formal member or organizer) during [...]

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Oppenheimer on discipline

August 4th, 2008 | Posted in books

Here’s the first Oppenheimer anecdote from American Prometheus that really grabbed my attention.
In the spring of 1932, Robert wrote his brother a long letter explaining why [discipline and work had always been his guiding principles]. The fact that discipline, he argued, “is good for the soul is more fundamental than any of the grounds given [...]

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American Prometheus

August 3rd, 2008 | Posted in Uncategorized, books

I recently finished American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherman. This magnificent biography covers the span of Oppenheimer’s remarkable life, from his birth into a prosperous German-Jewish immigrant family in New York and ascent in to the top echelons of theoretical physics, his experiences with [...]

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