American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin

When author Martin J. Sherwin first signed a contract to write a biography of Robert Oppenheimer in 1979, he knew he was taking on a big project and thought it would take four to five years to complete. In the end, his estimate was out by about twenty years, even after enlisting the help of Kai Bird to assist with the writing during the last five years.

As he began to interview people who had known Oppenheimer, more and more information came to light, including over ten thousand pages of information taken from the FBI alone. There were so many sources of information to consider that Sherwin quickly realised that the study was widening to take in far more than 'Oppie's' life story, and would have ramifications that shed light on the state of America during Oppie's time.

As work on the book progressed, many other American institutions and foundations got involved and provided both financial and research assistance to help create a document that was to be a definative account of Oppenheimer's life and work.

There is no doubt that the book is an important historical record and it was the inspiration for the major motion picture Oppenheimer which has renewed public interest in the man and his legacy.

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