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Title: Brotherhood of the Bomb: The Tangled Lives and Loyalties of Robert Oppenheimer, Ernest Lawrence, and Edward Teller by Gregg Herken ISBN: 0-8050-6589-X Publisher: Owl Books (NY) Pub. Date: 01 September, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.67 (12 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: OK But Not Entirely Satisfying
Comment: Gregg Herken's BROTHERHOOD OF THE BOMB is subtitled: "The
Tangled Lives And Loyalties Of Robert Oppenheimer, Ernest
Lawrence, And Edward Teller". This statement implies that
this book is something of a three-way biography of three
important nuclear scientists, but it actually has a broader
focus, discussing not merely the lives of these three men but
traces through the story of the US nuclear weapons program in
World War II; the American Communist Party; the Red spy
network in the US; McCarthyism and the Red witch hunts of the
Cold War; and the rise of the nuclear arms race.
In a sense, this relatively broad focus makes this book, if
not exactly frustrating because it's an okay read, at
least a little unsatisfying, since it gives enough of these
stories to be intriguing but not enough to give a clear
picture -- while distracting enough from the story of Lawrence,
Oppenheimer, and Teller so that they never seem to really
come alive.
This is a pity, since at least Oppenheimer and Teller are
fascinating individuals -- Oppenheimer was brilliant and
arrogant, impatient with lesser intellects, but still
much admired; and Teller is brilliant as well, with the odd
unintentional humor of the single-minded. (In an interview
a few years ago he told the reporter up front: "If you
mention Strangelove ONE TIME, I will THROW YOU OUT!")
In the end I get the feeling like I would have been happier
with something with much more scope, detail, and length;
or, with the scope it has, less detail and length. The
story of Oppenheimer's political persecution is laid out
blow-by-blow, but for myself I think a more concise
description would have let me see the forest for the trees
much better.
I must admit that the description of AEC Chairman Lewis
Strauss, who orchestrated the charge on Oppenheimer, was
vivid enough to be creepy, since Strauss was the sort of
fellow whose faith in his own convictions so strong that
he could burn any number of witches at the stake without
a second thought. It's good to be reminded that there are
people like that out there!
OK, I don't want to go too far. This isn't a bad book.
It's well-researched and provides worthwhile information.
There are fascinating bits in it, for example how
Oppenheimer was not merely given a clean bill of health
by the House UnAmerican Activities Committee, but even
praised as something of a national hero by the prominent
HUAC member, Congressman Richard M. Nixon of California.
(There always was a "Good Dick Nixon" and a "Bad Dick
Nixon".)
It just left me wanting much more -- which, I suppose, is
a good thing as well.
Rating: 4
Summary: Personal politics drive public nuclear agenda
Comment: In this well written book that draws on recently declassified US and Soviet sources, Herken draw a picture of the transition from research to high stakes nuclear policy. He uses the lives of three key physicists, Lawrence, Oppenheimer and Teller, to explore the complex issues of applying the new knowledge about atomic power to first creating an atomic bomb, and later to the intense debate about whether a hydrogen bomb should be created.
In choosing three scientists with very different temperaments, Herken describes not only the chronology of events from the mid 30's to the 60's, but can look at the fascinating intersection of how personal experiences contribute to the shape of history.
I was personally fascinated by Oppenheimer, who was affiliated with left wing and Communist organizations in the 30's, but did a stellar job of driving the research that led to the atomic bomb. The book describes how various government agencies had him and his colleagues under surveillance throughout the war, and into the 50's. I found this fascinating. Far more repulsive was how innuendo and carefully excerpted materials were used to paint him as a possible spy during the 50's Communist witch hunts.
For me, Oppenheimer's was the saddest story; using his reluctance to create the H-bomb as "proof" that he was a Soviet sympathizer is one of the dark moments of American history. The story of a man with a conscience about the consequences of his actions, against a backdrop of huge pressures to compete against the Soviet arms program, is the stuff of tragedy.
The portraits of the scientists are well drawn, and their differing motivations become clearer as they become older.
You don't need to be a physicist yourself to read this... The science is explained succinctly, with enough detail to be satisfying to the lay person. It might be slightly disappointing to someone deeply familiar with physics.
The focus is on how personality and politics shaped one of the most critical policies of the second half of the twentieth century: the American nuclear policy.
Rating: 5
Summary: This book is VERY WELL WRITTEN
Comment: I'm only a few chapters into the book at the moment. However, I am finding the book to be very interesting and extremely well researched. I totally disagree with the other reviews on this one. The book is very well written. I can hardly put it down. Excellent job!
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Title: The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes ISBN: 0684813785 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 01 August, 1995 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
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Title: Tuxedo Park: A Wall Street Tycoon and the Secret Palace of Science That Changed the Course of World War II by Jennet Conant ISBN: B00008AJCF Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: May, 2002 List Price(USD): $26.00 |
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Title: Racing for the Bomb: General Leslie R. Groves, the Manhattan Project's Indispensable Man by Robert S. Norris ISBN: 1586420674 Publisher: Steerforth Press Pub. Date: March, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Memoirs: A Twentieth-Century Journey in Science and Politics by Edward Teller, Judith Shoolery ISBN: 0738207780 Publisher: Perseus Books Group Pub. Date: 15 October, 2002 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb by Richard Rhodes ISBN: 0684824140 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 01 August, 1996 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
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