Books by Kai Bird
American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer
by Kai Bird & Martin Sherwin
🏆 Winner of the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Biography
American Prometheus is a bestseller (again) in the wake of Christopher Nolan's movie about J. Robert Oppenheimer. The movie is long, as is the book (700+ pages) but it is highly readable. The scariness of the weapon Oppenheimer ended up creating gives the book a built-in narrative momentum as you read about his German Jewish background, his schooling in New York and holidays in New Mexico, into the major events of his life.
“American Prometheus by Bird and Sherwin is the gold standard for books about Oppenheimer. It’s the definitive Oppenheimer biography—and I say that as the author of one myself.” Read more...
Books about J Robert Oppenheimer (to Read After the Movie)
Mark Wolverton, Science Writer
Interviews where books by Kai Bird were recommended
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1
American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer
by Kai Bird & Martin Sherwin -
2
The Oppenheimer Alternative
by Robert J. Sawyer -
3
The Making of the Atomic Bomb
by Richard Rhodes -
4
Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb
by Richard Rhodes -
5
Genius in the Shadows: A Biography of Leo Szilard, the Man Behind the Bomb
by William Lanouette & with Bela Silard
Books about J Robert Oppenheimer (to Read After the Movie), recommended by Mark Wolverton
Books about J Robert Oppenheimer (to Read After the Movie), recommended by Mark Wolverton
It’s not often that a movie about something we know a lot about lives up to expectations, but when it came to the Oppenheimer movie, science writer Mark Wolverton—who has read almost every book he could find about the making of the atomic bomb—was impressed. As a bonus to his interview (on the history of physics), he shared some recommendations of books to read for others who enjoyed it, including a sci-fi novel in which Oppenheimer’s life takes a different turn.
