"J. Robert Oppenheimer is one of the iconic figures of the twentieth century, a 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 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. --From publisher's description."

Originally published: New York : Knopf, 2005. THE INSPIRATION FOR THE MAJOR MOTION PICTURE OPPENHEIMER • "A riveting account of one of history’s most essential and paradoxical figures.”—Christopher Nolan #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • 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 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.

I. "He received every new idea as perfectly beautiful" -- "His separate prison" -- " I am having a pretty bad time" -- "I find the work hard, thank God, & almost pleasant" -- "I am Oppenheimer" -- "Oppie" -- "The Nim Nim boys" -- II. "In 1936 my interests began to change" -- "[Frank] clipped it out and sent it in" -- "More and more surely" -- "I'm going to marry a friend of yours, Steve" -- "We were pulling the New Deal to the left" -- "The coordinator of rapid rupture" -- "The Chevalier affair" -- III. "He'd become very patriotic" -- "Too much secrecy" -- "Oppenheimer is telling the truth..." -- "Suicide, motive unknown" -- "Would you like to adopt her?" -- "Bohr was God, and Oppie was his prophet" -- "The impact of the gadget on civilization" -- "Now we're all sons-of-bitches" -- IV. "Those poor little people" -- "I feel I have blood on my hands" -- "People could destroy New York" -- "Oppie had a rash and is now immune" -- "An intellectual hotel" -- "He couldn't understand why he did it" -- "I am sure that is why she threw things at him" -- "He never let on what his opinion was" -- "Dark words about Oppie" -- "Scientist X" -- "The beast in the jungle" -- V. "It looks pretty bad, doesn't it?" -- "I fear that this whole thing is a piece of idiocy" -- "A manifestation of hysteria" -- "A black mark on the escutcheon of our country" -- "I can still feel the warm blood on my hands" -- "It was really like a never-never land" -- "It should have been done the day after trinity" -- "There's only one Robert".