Book SummaryAmerican Prometheus, by Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of American Prometheus

According to writers Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin, scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer represents a modern-day Prometheus, the Greek Titan eternally punished for stealing fire from the gods and imparting it to humanity. In their 2006 book American Prometheus, Bird and Sherwin provide a comprehensive biography of Oppenheimer, a historical figure best known for developing the atomic bomb that wrought destruction on Japan in World War II. And although Bird and Sherwin dedicate much of American Prometheus to Oppenheimer’s work on the bomb, they also seek to shed light on the lesser-known person behind the bomb, detailing his evolution from adolescent activist to eventual political martyr.

(Shortform note: Although Oppenheimer may have been a lesser-known historical figure in 2006, American Prometheus’s widespread success has changed that. In addition to winning the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Biography,...

American Prometheus Summary Oppenheimer’s Life Before Developing the Atom Bomb

Though most historical accounts focus on Oppenheimer’s work on the atomic bomb, Bird and Sherwin suggest that Oppenheimer’s adolescence provides context for understanding his views and decisions later in life. They argue that Oppenheimer’s adolescent years were marked by emotional instability that eventually gave way to committed left-wing political activism. In this section, we’ll first discuss Oppenheimer’s struggles with mental illness in his youth, followed by his activism that led to allegations of Communist Party membership.

Adolescent Emotional Instability

According to Bird and Sherwin, Oppenheimer’s adolescence and early adulthood were marked by severe emotional instability. Specifically, they contend that Oppenheimer suffered from chronic depression and emotional breakdowns, only to recover in his mid-20s.

They note that, according to Oppenheimer’s friend and Harvard University classmate Paul Horgan, Oppenheimer was prone to multiday depressive episodes at Harvard. During these episodes, he became increasingly reclusive and unavailable to even his closest friends. This emotional volatility, Bird and Sherwin argue, grew even worse during Oppenheimer’s...

American Prometheus Summary The Development of the Atom Bomb

Bird and Sherwin contend that Oppenheimer’s interest in a broad range of progressive causes, from labor unions to the Spanish revolution, was upended by one event: Japan’s bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941. Rather than continue investing in these causes, Oppenheimer shifted his focus singularly toward the impending war with Germany and the other Axis powers (Japan and Italy).

(Shortform note: Oppenheimer’s response to the bombing of Pearl Harbor was shared by the vast majority of Americans. Indeed, experts argue that Pearl Harbor was a uniquely unifying moment in American history, as it united Americans against a common enemy that threatened to destroy the US altogether. For this reason, the Senate even voted unanimously to declare War against Japan, a rare act of consensus across party lines.)

The US government was initially reluctant to include Oppenheimer in the bomb project because of his past political associations. However, in 1941 Oppenheimer’s colleague at Berkeley, the renowned experimental physicist Ernest Lawrence,...

American Prometheus Summary The Aftermath of the Atom Bomb

Despite intelligence about Japan’s desire to surrender, President Truman chose to use the atomic bomb on Japan, bombing Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and Nagasaki on August 9. According to Bird and Sherwin, Oppenheimer’s initial reaction to the bombings was ambivalent; he proudly congratulated his team following the first bombing, but friends report him consumed with qualms. In turn, Oppenheimer became an increasingly outspoken advocate for nuclear regulation after the bombing, earning him powerful political opponents who sought to excommunicate him.

(Shortform note: To date, the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki represent the only wartime uses of nuclear weapons. Since then, the closest the world has come to using nuclear weapons in combat was arguably in the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, in which the US and the Soviet Union nearly engaged in nuclear warfare at the peak of the Cold War.)

In this section, we’ll dig deeper into Oppenheimer’s life in the wake of the bombing. Bird...

American Prometheus Summary Oppenheimer’s Life Post-Hearing

Bird and Sherwin contend that the loss of Oppenheimer’s security clearance signified his fall from grace in the eyes of politicians and much of the American public. They argue that Oppenheimer effectively underwent a transformation after the security hearing: He was no longer an inside adviser on nuclear policy, but instead an exiled intellectual. In this section, we’ll discuss Bird and Sherwin’s account of this transition followed by Oppenheimer’s later political rehabilitation by the Kennedy administration.

The Shift from Political Insider to Public Intellectual

According to Bird and Sherwin, Oppenheimer’s public activism became increasingly selective in the years following his security hearing. They argue that he became reticent to speak about nuclear policy, and instead spoke more generally on the interaction between science and culture.

For example, Bird and Sherwin point to Oppenheimer’s reaction to President Eisenhower’s nuclear policies. According to Oppenheimer’s friend David Lilienthal (a coauthor of the Acheson-Lilienthal Report), Oppenheimer refused to sign petitions advising the US to avoid preemptive nuclear conflict with Communist China in 1955. Though...

Shortform Exercise: Assess Oppenheimer’s Views and Influence

Bird and Sherwin maintain that Oppenheimer’s creation of the atomic bomb had ripples down the line, all the way to the present day. In this exercise, reflect on Oppenheimer’s views and the impact his views have had on nuclear weapons in contemporary society.

How worried are you about nuclear weapons and their impact in the modern world? Why?