Prometheus was the Greek god who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to humans. He was subsequently punished by Zeus -- and so were mortals, on whom Zeus unleashed misery and suffering.
As Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin note in their excellent biography, "American Prometheus" ( Knopf, 721 pages, $35), "Oppenheimer gave us atomic fire," and when he saw the consequences of his action and wanted to take it back, "the authorities like Zeus rose up in anger to punish him." And in the process, the authorities punished the rest of us, too.
Sherwin originally signed the contract for this book in 1979. Five years ago, presumably because of the amount of material he gathered proved overwhelming, he brought Bird in to help him. The book is definitely worth the wait and effort. It is exceptionally well-written and organized, exhaustively researched and brings to life one of the most interesting and important figures of the 20th century.
Oppenheimer was born in New York City in 1904 of wealthy though non-practicing Jewish parents. And while he demonstrated an early interest in science, he was a genuine Renaissance man, well read in the classics and a master of many languages, among a wide range of interests.
He studied at Harvard and in Europe and, in part because he was really lousy at lab work, went into and helped create what is known as theoretical physics. He wrote several important papers, taught at Berkley and Cal Tech and was appointed (when other candidates turned it down) as the science director of the Manhattan project.
Although there was some initial skepticism, it proved a wonderful choice. He was an inspirational leader who shepherded a disparate group of scientists, military and civilian personnel to successful completion of a project they thought would end the war.
At first, Oppenheimer was in favor of the bomb and its use in Japan, even though there was talk that the Japanese were on the verge of surrender anyway. He argued against development of the super or hydrogen bomb. It would come back to haunt him.
In the mid-50s, he had his security clearance lifted after a sham trial engineered by Lewis Straus. It violated the letter and spirit of the Constitution and of fair play.
What struck me most about this book is how relevant it is today, how what happened to Oppenheimer and what he said still resonates today.
Appearing at a closed Senate hearing, he acknowledged that three or four men could bring a nuclear device into Manhattan and destroy New York City. How could it be detected, he was asked? "A screw driver" to open every crate and suitcase," he replied.
Similarly, in the anti-red hysteria of the late 1940s and early 1950s, the FBI illegally wire-tapped Oppenheimer, his lawyer and others.
"The government equated dissent with disloyalty" in much the way some elected officials today equate dissent with godlessness. Certainly the authors didn't intend this to be an allegory for politics today; but the timing couldn't have been better. George Santana said "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it."
Politics aside, however, this is an engaging, informative well-written biography that will be the standard for works about Oppenheimer -- and how good biographies should be written. |
