American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer is a 2005 biography of theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, the leader of the Manhattan Project which produced the first nuclear weapons, written by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin over a period of 25 years. It won numerous awards, including the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography.
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 security hearing in the McCarthy era. The book shows efforts by Lewis Strauss and the FBI to undermine Oppenheimer. The bomb is regarded as a crucial turning point and a significant meeting between science and wartime weapons. This pivots Oppenheimer as an important historical figure and a symbol for atomic bomb ethics and political discourse about nuclear power. The book delves into various components of Oppenheimer's life inside and outside the Manhattan Project. His early life, ambitions, ideas, political activities, marriage, relationships with other women and physicists, misgivings about the bomb, complexities, and shortcomings are also discussed in the book.
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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 one of the book begins tracing Oppenheimer's childhood and early education at the Ethical Culture School and Harvard, describing Oppenheimer's precocious academic abilities, love for the nature of the southwestern United States, and passion for physics. Oppenheimer commented on his childhood, "My life as a child did not prepare me for the fact that the world is full of cruel and bitter things."[2]
The authors recount Oppenheimer's emotional crisis at the University of Cambridge, his Academic flourishment as a theoretical physicist at Gttingen, and his role as the founder of the theoretical physics program at the University of California, Berkeley. Versatile in many subjects, Oppenheimer formed his own cult of admirers, established an international reputation as a scientist, and developed an interest in the humanities and literature, including Hindu scriptures.
While a professor at Berkeley, Oppenheimer began an intense relationship with graduate student Jean Tatlock, which instilled a new interest in social and political activism. Amidst the Great Depression, Oppenheimer developed an appeal for the unemployed and migrant farmers and later gave donations for Spanish relief through the Communist Party of America (CPUSA) and funded refugees from Nazi Germany. At Berkeley, Oppenheimer held union meetings at his home and maintained an inner circle of students who became associated with left-wing activities. Oppenheimer's brother Frank joined the Communist Party to Robert's disapproval.
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 Haakon Chevalier and FBI recordings could merely portray him as a fellow traveler. Never formally having a card and later denying he ever had a membership, Oppenheimer described his interaction with the party as "very brief and very intense."[3]
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 "Uranium Committee."
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.
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 plutonium implosion bomb with lenses. Part three ends by detailing the Trinity Test of the first nuclear bomb.
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 Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The authors recount Oppenheimer's serious qualms about the implications of the bombings and nuclear weapons. He later told President Truman, "I feel I have blood on my hands," a statement that would alienate the president from him.[5]
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 (H-bomb). Despite the government's decision to move forward with the bomb, Oppenheimer continued his role as chairman but remained an outspoken critic of the bomb.
Increased political influence led to greater surveillance by the FBI led by J. Edgar Hoover to investigate Oppenheimer's communist connections. Oppenheimer was asked to testify at a HUAC hearing and became an informant regarding former students' communist relations. In another meeting, Oppenheimer criticized communism and claimed he was "a resolute anti-communist" but continued to face suspicions and accusations of communist ties.[6] The book shows how Oppenheimer, amidst a stalemate of Cold War policy, became more estranged from politics in Washington, while still fatefully trying to remain an insider.
Oppenheimer accepted an offer as director of the Institute for Advanced Study from Lewis Strauss, where he would try to advance both the sciences and humanities. However, Oppenheimer would eventually humiliate Strauss in a congressional hearing, increasing animosity between the two. Seeking revenge, Strauss began investigating Oppenheimer with the help of the FBI and initiated a campaign to suppress Oppenheimer's political influence and smear his reputation. As chairman of the AEC, Strauss pushed forward with nuclear secrecy and proliferation. Eventually, President Eisenhower attempted to cut off Oppenheimer from all government contacts and create a "blank wall" between the scientist and classified material.[7]
The book also covers the stormy relationship between Katherine and Oppenheimer, in which Kitty appears extremely passionate and intense and Oppenheimer more disengaged. Kitty's desire for Oppenheimer to gain fame is also mentioned.
The last part of the book deals primarily with Oppenheimer's security hearing and its aftermath. The authors argue that the proceedings constituted a kangaroo court orchestrated by Lewis Strauss, in which Oppenheimer was intentionally humiliated. The hearing board concluded that Oppenheimer was a security threat due to his past conduct and associations, stance on the hydrogen bomb, and less than candid responses. A following letter claimed that "Dr. Oppenheimer was a Communist in every respect except for the fact that he did not carry a party card."[8]
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. 152ee80cbc
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