American Prometheus : the triumph and tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer

The Resource American Prometheus : the triumph and tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer
Label
American Prometheus : the triumph and tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer
Title remainder
the triumph and tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer
Statement of responsibility
by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin
Title variation
Triumph and tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer
Creator
Contributor
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
The first full-scale biography of the "father of the atomic bomb," the brilliant, charismatic physicist who led the effort to capture the fire of the sun for his country in time of war. After Hiroshima, he became the most famous scientist of his generation--an icon of modern man confronting the consequences of scientific progress. He created a radical proposal to place international controls over atomic materials, opposed the development of the hydrogen bomb and criticized the Air Force's plans to fight a nuclear war. In the hysteria of the early 1950s, his ideas were anathema to powerful advocates of a massive nuclear buildup, and people such as Edward Teller and FBI director J. Edgar Hoover worked behind the scenes to obtain a finding that he could not be trusted with America's nuclear secrets. This book is both biography and history, significant to our understanding of our recent past--and of our choices for the future
Award
  • Booklist Editors' Choice, 2005.
  • National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography, 2005.
  • New York Times Notable Book, 2005.
  • Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography, 2006.
Awards note
National Books Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, 2007
Biography type
individual biography
Cataloging source
DLC
Dewey number
530/.092
Illustrations
illustrations
Index
index present
LC call number
QC16.O62
LC item number
B57 2005
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography

Context

Context of American Prometheus : the triumph and tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer

Work of

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