The Latest News from COM Library

The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer

• PULITZER PRIZE WINNER •  NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER •

The definitive biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer, one of the iconic figures of the twentieth century, a brilliant physicist who led the effort to build the atomic bomb for his country in a time of war, and who later found himself confronting the moral consequences of scientific progress.

In this magisterial, acclaimed biography twenty-five years in the making, Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin capture Oppenheimer’s life and times, from his early career to his central role in the Cold War. This is biography and history at its finest, riveting and deeply informative.

• "A riveting account of one of history’s most essential and paradoxical figures.”—Christopher Nolan, Director
• “A masterful account of Oppenheimer’s rise and fall, set in the context of the turbulent decades of America’s own transformation. It is a tour de force.” —Los Angeles Times Book Review
• “A work of voluminous scholarship and lucid insight, unifying its multifaceted portrait with a keen grasp of Oppenheimer’s essential nature.... It succeeds in deeply fathoming his most damaging, self-contradictory behavior.” —The New York Times

Want More? See our Award Winners and Finalists collection, browse our whole OverDrive collection or see How to Use OverDrive.