A review by issyd23
American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird, Martin J. Sherwin

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.0

Worth the effort! 4🤠 

“Modern Prometheans have raided Mount Olympus again & have brought back for man the very thunderbolts of Zeus.” Scientific Monthly

Imagine having one of the greatest minds of the 20th century & the first 4 chapters of your biography is about how much of a loser you were at school/uni, how little you had sex & how you had 0 friends & low key tried to kill yourself & your professor.

Thankfully Oppie’s neuroses ‘subsided during middle age’ & he went on to have many affairs, friends & lead the Manhattan project & other groundbreaking discoveries. 

Jokes aside this biography is incredible: the best I’ve read & well worth the slog if you’re a fan of the film! 

It was so great reading the backstories of Jean Tatlock, Kitty, Isi Rabi & other fascinating people (I now finally understand what happened with Haakon Chevalier).

My eBook was so filled with highlights it started lagging. 

Bird & Sherwin’s attention to detail & research is considerable. Take a bow! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Hate crime, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, War, and Classism