Brotherhood of the Bomb: The Tangled Lives and Loyalties of Robert Oppenheimer, Ernest Lawrence and Edward Teller (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "EARLY IN 1939, Ernest Orlando Lawrence, the Berkeley physicist and inventor of the cyclotron, was planning a machine to change the world..." (more)
Key Phrases: great cyclotron, supplemental releases, test han, Los Alamos, San Francisco, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

It would be difficult to identify three American scientists whose work had a greater effect on world politics than Robert Oppenheimer, Ernest Lawrence, and Edward Teller. This exhaustive account of how they worked together (and competed against each other) on the development of the atomic and hydrogen bombs is more a story of people than science. Author Gregg Herken of the Smithsonian Institution informs us, for instance, of Oppenheimer's "riotous parties" in the 1930s, in which latecomers would see "the top physicists of their generation, drunk and crouched on all fours, playing a version of tiddly-winks on the geometric patterns of Oppenheimer's Navajo rug." Despite a few light touches, Brotherhood of the Bomb is no breezy profile of three great minds. Instead, it is a serious look at invention, rivalry, and betrayal. One of the central episodes involves Oppenheimer's too-cozy relationship with radical-left politics--he carelessly associated with Communists, even though he occupied one of the most sensitive jobs in the U.S. government during the cold war--and Teller's momentous decision to testify against him. This event is one of the most controversial in the annals of American science, and Herken tells it straight, with barely a word of editorial comment. Fans of Richard Rhodes will enjoy this triple biography, as will anybody with an interest in science, politics, and top-secret security clearances. --John J. Miller

From Publishers Weekly

The personalities of the scientists who made the nuclear bomb are the focus of this detailed, engrossing history of one of the greatest scientific discoveries of the 20th century. Relying on author interviews and primary and secondary sources, Herken (The Winning Weapons) explains the backgrounds of the three physicists who were essential to the creation of the atomic bombs dropped over Japan during WWII. But even though the author focuses on Oppenheimer, Lawrence and Teller offering both brief bios of each and depicting the sometimes-tempestuous relationships among them it's the former who garners the lion's share of his attention. "Oppie," as he was known, has long been a controversial figure for his later opposition to weapons programs and his alleged Communist links (he was stripped of his U.S. government security clearance during the McCarthy years). As Herken notes, the trial might have had a backlash, turning many scientists against U.S. defense projects for years to come. But there's no smoking gun here: Herken argues that it is unlikely that Oppenheimer, despite his strong leftist sympathies, was ever a member of the Communist Party, let alone a spy. But he nicely details the intersection between the scientific and leftist communities (particularly during the 1920s and 1930s) and the government's attempt to infiltrate these communities after the war. The book is unlikely to end the debate over Oppenheimer's past or change any minds about the balances between security needs and civil liberties but if there was ever a question that politics plays a part in science, this book washes away any doubts.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.; 1ST edition (September 9, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805065881
• ISBN-13: 978-0805065886
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,036,842 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Still a Current Issue, September 25, 2002

By	taking a rest - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

I finished reading, "Brotherhood Of The Bomb", by Gregg Herken on the same afternoon I read about new mini nuclear devices in two separate science magazines. These devices could theoretically change the policies regarding the use of these weapons as a first strike device by the Government of the United States. Small is a relative term, but these would be 1/100th the size of the Hiroshima bomb, or even smaller. There purpose would be to destroy bunkers that are located 250-300 feet below ground level.

What should be done with atomic and thermonuclear weapons became and remained a divisive and astonishingly expensive issue for almost 40 years. The estimated cost of these weapons was estimated at $5.5 trillion dollars. And with the exception of the two used at the close of the war, none were ever used again in any conflict. The very existence of tens of thousands of warheads, and with them the ability to fundamentally alter or extinguish human life on earth, kept them in there silos or respective hangars and submarines.

For readers new to the story of this part of scientific history you may wish to read more about the actual weapons before proceeding with this book. This book is about a few of the central personalities and their decades long fighting and deep-seated negative feelings that bordered on hatred. These emotions were the direct result of the differing views held by these scientists that grew from vying opinions of what was built, what was theoretically possible to construct, and how they should be used.

It is naïve to feel that great scientific minds that create weapons that could possibly destroy our planet should be substantially different in temperament from the average human being. One would like to think they would be coldly objective when discussing what should be built, what can be built, and whether or not the weapons should be used. In this book Greg Herken shares conflict among some of the best known of the scientists and the lengths that were traveled to marginalize, and even criminalize one for the benefit of the other.

Teller and Oppenheimer were compared by the author to Jefferson and Adams as two men who greatly changed the circumstances of the time they lived in, and then carried bitter differences between them to the grave. Teller remained active decades after the death of his nemesis, and of all the years he spent attacking Oppenheimer directly or in concert with members of the government. If this activity had been confined to the fruitcakes lead by McCarthy they would be easier to dismiss. But Teller never relented from leading the opposition against a man he wanted discredited, and criminally prosecuted.

Oppenheimer was stripped of his Q Clearance security access one day before it was to expire. Since this came years after he helped lead the creation of a variety of weapons, the decision not to extend his clearance was worthy of the closed door kangaroo court he was judged by. What was even more disturbing were the absolutely illegal acts committed for years in an attempt to discredit him and any one he had contact with that the paranoids in Washington were concerned about.

Imagine you are going to trial, behind closed doors, with the following handicaps. Your home, your office, and those of your attorney are illegally wiretapped so the prosecution knows everything you plan for your defense in advance. They know everything they have no right to know because the laws of the country forbid such invasions of privacy. Again another man of dubious mental stability was at the helm of these illegal wiretaps, the rather infamous J. Edgar Hoover. But even with all of the power of legal and illegal government, Oppenheimer was found guilty of nothing, and he lost his security clearance by a vote of 2 to 1, and this vote by a hand picked group guaranteed to vote against him.

Security and infiltration by scientists, with communist politics, of the Manhattan Project did exist. They were in place from the very beginning with one example being Klaus Fuchs. Many others were guilty of youthful naiveté, but being a practitioner of pathetic judgment and turning over critical state secrets during a time of war are very different issues. I have never read any credible information that Oppenheimer was ever a communist much less a spy. His brother may have been a bit dimmer in his judgment, but again he was never even accused of passing secrets. But this was a time when lying about being present at a gathering at a person's home where radical issues were discussed could and did destroy many careers and lives. Telling the truth had basically the same effect. A refusal to take a loyalty oath also ended many careers.

This is a great book on the human side of some of the men who are so well known as the creators of the most destructive weapons ever conceived. That they were brilliant has never been an issue, that they are human, and sometimes uncomfortably so, considering the positions they were in, is a new and somewhat troubling view.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars First rate account of the creation of the bomb, October 21, 2002

By	Wayne Klein "If at first the idea is not absu... (My Little Blue Window, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

Gregg Herken's Brotherhood of the Bomb manages to overcome the most common obstacle with history books--it makes the subjects and the events come alive. Herken had access to The Smithsonian Archieves as well as interviews with the primary sources involved in the creation of the bomb. The book is a fair balanced account of the difficult personalities and politics that went into the creation of the first nuclear bomb and the later more powerful "super". Only two other books has been this impressive (both by Richard Rhodes)and exhaustive. Herken's book has the advantage of additional resources.

The personalities and egos of Oppenheimer, Teller and Lawrence contributed to the rise and downfall of each man. Oppenheimer's eventual ethical objections to the development of the super came as much from his personal beliefs as it did his distaste for Teller's ideas. Teller became a hawk regarding nuclear policy and, ultimately, his opinions on Oppenheimer contributed to his loss of his security clearence. Lawrence was as driven as both men and largely apolitical until politics and science intersected.

Herken's book is a fascinating portrait of the players and time that helped shape the modern world.

20 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars first rate history of science, told like a novel, September 27, 2002

By	Robert J. Crawford (Balmette Talloires, France) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a wonderful book about one of the most controversial developments of the last century: the development of the atomic and then hydrogen bombs. At the core of the book are the three scientists - Robert Oppenheimer, Ernest Lawrence, and Edward Teller - who had the greatest impact, both from the technical problems they confronted and from the political points of view they advocated. Though a bit rarified in terms of general interest as it focuses on science advisors, this for me was a fascinating recounting of the decisions that led to the arms race and eventually cost $5.5 trillion and produced 120,000 nuclear weapons. It also evokes with great eloquence the domestic repercussions of the cold war and paranoia of the 1950s.

Herken writes well, though at times his style was strange for me. For example, one person evaluated a speech with a "gimlet eye." (I had to look that up.) Nonetheless, Herken's writing is dramatic and fast paced, far far better than I would normally expect from an American academic.

Recommended with enthusiasm.