J. Robert Oppenheimer and the American century
By: David C. Cassidy.
Publisher: Pi Press
Published: 2005
Place of publication: New York, N.Y
Language: eng
Number of pages: 462
Subjects: Oppenheimer, J. Robert, 1904-1967; Atomic bomb -- United States -- History; Physicists -- United States -- Biography
Genres: Biography.
Description: "J. Robert Oppenheimer, the man who led the Manhattan Project that built the atomic bomb and ended World War II, forged the alliance between science and government that made the American Century possible. David C. Cassidy's biography is not merely the life story of a brilliant physicist, it tells the hidden story of the political and social forces shaping the world in our time: the rise of American science." "Oppenheimer, the eldest son of an aristocratic Jewish family living on the Upper West Side of New York City, attended the secular, progressive, and elite Ethical Culture School. Cassidy, building his narrative on previously untapped primary documents, shows the importance and character of Oppenheimer's early education. The liberal values he absorbed there ran counter to the culture he found at Harvard, whose president sought to foster a future managerial elite, the rulers of the new American society. These formative contrasts in values explain Oppenheimer's many seeming contradictions. Why did the scientist who correctly theorized black holes turn his back on cutting edge research? How did a gentle liberal humanist become responsible for the creation of the first real weapon of mass destruction? How could a brilliant mind like his virtually found "scientific militarism" and then let it destroy him?" "Cassidy opens up a life story that is emblematic of the transformation of America over the last three generations. It offers, as the best history can, an insight into the future technological and moral progress of a nation."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references ([425]-439) and index.
Table of contents: title: Machine generated contents note:  Acknowledgments ix; title: Introduction x; title: 1.Coming to America 1; title: 2.Ethically Cultured 15; title: 3.Ethically Schooled 33; title: 4.The Damning Lie 47; title: 5.Summa Cum Laude 61; title: 6.Getting Near the Center 79; title: 7.A Taste for Physics 105; title: 8.Coming of Age 117; title: 9.Professor of Physics 133; title: 10.Cosmic Connections 159; title: 11.Depression and War 181; title: 12.The Organic Necessity 211; title: 13.Dropping the Bomb 237; title: 14.State Scientist 253; title: 15.Icon of Physics 267; title: 16.Good Soldiers 285; title: 17.Insecurity Hearings 305; title: 18.Exile 327; title: Appendix 1 353; title: Appendix 2 355; title: Appendix 3 357; title: Appendix 4 359; title: Notes 363; title: Bibliography 425; title: Index 441 <BR><BR>Library of Congress Subject Headings for this publication: Oppenheimer, J, Robert, 1904-1967, Atomic bomb United States History, Physicists United States Biography.