Customer Reviews

J. Robert Oppenheimer: A Life

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There have been several good biographies of Oppenheimer in the past few years. As biographies the others are probably better. This book though has two real advantages over the others:

First, Abraham Pais was a physicist himself. He worked with Oppenheimer and knew all or most of the significant physicists involved with atomic energy during and after the war. His insights on the physics being done at the time is very insightful.

Second, Oppenheimer is most known for Los Alamos and the Manhattan Project. But after that, after he lost his security clearance Oppenheimer was head of the Institute for Advanced Studies at Princeton. This is where Pais knew him and it is in this part of his life that this book excells.

Oppenheimer was an enigmatic person. He was certainly an accomplished physicist. Not perhaps the equal of the very best, but clearly on the first string. Oppenheimer's work in physics earned him what might be called an honorable mention in the history books. Oppenheimer's work as a manager of the project and as director of the institute required not brilliance in physics but managerial capabilities far beyond those exhibited by other physicists of the time (with the possible exception of Edward Teller).

Oppenheimer's expulsion from Government service over security issues was one of the travesties of the McCarthy era. It seems though that his subsequent work at the IAS gave him enough pleasure that he was not unhappy. He continued to work at the forefront of physics.

If you want to know more about Oppenheimer's life before and during the war, look to other books. If you want some insight into his later life and into the depth of his character, this is the best book I have found.

While I generally agree with the authors of the reviews below that this book provides insight into Oppenheimer's character, the development of IAS, and the inner workings of the Manhattan Project, I did not find this biography helpful in understanding either Oppenheimer's scientific work or the wider scientific research in quantum theory in which he played a role. I took to reading the "science" chapters with my laptop, set to Wikipedia, at my side, because -- perhaps because he died before revising or expanding the chapters that he had completed -- Pais does not define, let alone explain, any of the concepts and theories underlying Oppenheimer's research, but merely summarizes those ideas as though he were addressing an audience of science professionals. While no scientist, I'm not a science illiterate. Yet I understood very few of the descriptions in this book of Oppenheimer's actual scientific work. Therefore, I'd recommend this bio to readers interested in learning more about Oppenheimer's life, the history of IAS and the birth of the atomic age, but not to those nonscientists who want to learn more about Oppenheimer's research.

This is an excellent biography of Robert Oppenheimer (Oppie), the physicist who successfully created the first atomic bomb in the United States. The author is a fellow physicist and a close friend of Oppenheimer, writes his observations about a man who is as complex as any human being can be. In 1920's, the author recalls several incidents' of violence and troubled nature of Oppie partly due to his inept performance in the laboratory and his unsatisfactory sexual adventures or his overall insecurities in life. In one instance, the author states that he seemed agitated because he gave a poisoned apple to one of his friend. Oppenheimer had a dysfunctional family; his wife Kitty was a confirmed alcoholic who was vicious to anyone she did not like. The troubled relationship between two parents had significant negative impact on their two children. Peter did not get along with his mother and left home in his late teens and their daughter Toni committed suicide.

While in Berkeley in 1936, his girlfriend Jean Tatlock of Stanford introduced him to communist party and her left-wing friends in San Francisco which led the way for great deal of trouble during McCarthy era. In 1949, Oppenheimer appeared before the house committee on un-American activities (HUAC) and answered some tough questions about his brother and left-wing friends. The Security Board's hearing in 1954 on Oppenheimer's security clearance was traumatic when they revoked his clearance. This was a sad time in his life, since he emerged from the war as an American hero, and the War department called him "a man of boundless energy, rare common sense, and possessing tremendous organizational abilities." The year 1949 was not good for Oppie, since in the same year Soviets had successfully tested an atomic bomb. The quickness with which the Soviets had produced the bomb had many people to believe that American physicists may have given secretive information to Soviets. Klaus Fuchs was the first suspect who was convicted for his crime. Harry Gold in Philadelphia, David Greenglass in New York, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg's were also convicted of passing on the nuclear secrets to Soviets. A security officer falsely accused Oppenheimer was responsible for passing on secrets to Soviets. This did not sit well with McCarthy and Hoover who disliked him strongly.

Oppenheimer delivered brilliant summaries as a keynote speaker. He explained complex physical problems, turned unforgettable phrases, attracted reporters, and idolaters. He was half-legendry; he was loathed and feared for the brutal way he treated people. He was highly respected and cordially disliked. Oppenheimer was also notorious in getting math wrong although his physics was always sound. Oppenheimer implicitly predicted the existence of positions just about the time Dirac explicitly stated that. His contributions included; Born-Oppenheimer approximation, Oppenheimer-Phillips effect and physics of black holes. During his tenure as the director of prestigious Institute of advanced Study at Princeton, he showed leadership for the advancement of physics by assembling the right people just like he did at Los Alamos laboratory. He concentrated mainly on young physicists. He hired Freeman Dyson and C. N. Yang. Other notable visitors were Hideki Yukawa, Sin-itiro Tomaya, David Bohm, John van Neumann, and Oswald Veblen.

Oppenheimer was more interested in Hindu philosophy since early 1920s and spent more time studying Vedanta and Vedic literature than his study of stellar structures at Pauli's Institute at Zurich. In his letters to his brother Frank, he expresses his interest in studying Sanskrit and Hindu philosophy. In some respects Oppenheimer was over educated in those fields which lie outside physics, especially religion and Hinduism in particular. Oppenheimer himself translated the following hymn from Vedic literature just two days before the first testing of atomic bomb at Trinity site near Alamogordo in New Mexico.

"In battle, in the forest, at the precipice in the mountains
On the dark great sea, in the midst of javelins and arrows,
In sleep, in confusion, in the depths of shame,
The good deeds a man has done before will defend him."
Shortly after the successful testing of the first atomic bomb on July 16, 1945, Oppenheimer saw the fireball glowing and two hymns from Bhagavadgita came to his mind. One is from Gita 11.12
"A thousand simultaneous suns
Arising in the sky
Mighty equal that great
With that great radiance glory vie"
The second, the most quoted is when Krishna speaks to Arjuna (Gita 11.32)
Death (time) am I, the great destroyer
Of the world

This hymn is variously stated in the literature on nuclear weapons. One form "I am become death, the shatterer of the worlds" is most common. William Laurence, a New York Times reporter who interviewed Oppenheimer was the first one to hear this quote, and latter quoted by Robert Junk in his 1958 book. According to Vedanta, death is an illusion, even though the body perishes but the soul is eternal. It appears that Oppenheimer was more focused on the duty to act and not the results of the action, which is another important message of Gita. You can hear the video recording of Oppenheimer reciting this verse on YouTube.

1. James Hijiya, Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society Volume 144 (2), P.123 (2000)
2. American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer
3. Oppenheimer's Choice: Reflections from Moral Philosophy (S U N Y Series in Philosophy)

I give this biography full marks. It reads well and gives insights into what goes to make a genius. Apparently Oppenheimer would disappear into the woods and scream when he got frustrated! If you are interested in the A-Bomb and what it did for WW2 you might like Atomic Power: Necessary Evil or Virtually Uncontrollable Force that's Wrecking the Planet?

A gripping review of the man who really created the atomic bomb and fought to stop the hydrogen bomb. Read this book and find out why