My interest in reading American Prometheus was born after watching Oppenheimer last summer. I came out of that movie wondering, "How could such an intelligent person be part of something so reprehensible, and not predict the consequences?" After reading this biography, I think Max Born, a mentor of young Oppenheimer, sums it up best: "It is satisfying to have had such clever and efficient pupils, but I wish they had shown less cleverness and more wisdom."

My copy of American Prometheus is flush with little orange flags that denote what I feel are clues revealing Oppenheimer's psyche around the atomic bomb. I came away with an impression of a brilliant (if not diligent) scientist and humanitarian who generally had the right idea, but like many, was ailed with the American diseases of Ego, Over Deference to Authority, and Tunnel Vision.

This is a phenomenal biography. It is meticulous, detailed, and excellently written. The cast of "characters" is huge, and Sherwin and Bird do a very good job at keeping the details straight, and telling an extremely complicated story in a way that is easily understood. My one criticism is that certain events and people are relayed sometimes out of chronology, which can be confusing. I certainly recommend making liberal use of the index to remind yourself of where you heard that name 200 pages back.

This took me longer to get through than my normal pace, but that's par for the course with me and non-fiction. I tend to chew on it a bit more. But overall an incredible bit of history writing, which masterfully documents the duality of Robert Oppenheimer's brilliance and naïveté.