Robert Oppenheimer
by Ray Monk · first published 2013
50% recommend50% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Detailed biography of the physicist behind the Manhattan Project, valued for its scientific context and portrait of Oppenheimer's life; suits readers curious about physics history or scientists as public figures.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
An exploration of the enigma of Robert Oppenheimer's life and personality and his contributions to the revolution in twentieth-century physics.
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…Great read for this current climate. Allowed me to understand those around me better and to improve relations with family members who are far over on the right side of the political spectrum better. Robert Oppenheimer - Ray Monk - Enjoyed it, but it was quite long. Oppenheimer was an interesting person who didn’t actually make many direct contributions to the world of physics, but was extremely well read and knew everyone…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?” ↗…lord, Abraham Pais (Already mentioned) Newton -> Never at rest, Richard Westfall (Already mentioned) Galileo -> Galileo, John Heilbron Oppenheimer -> Inside the centre (Ray Monk), more technical: "Robert Oppenheimer, a life" A. Pais Euler -> Euler: The Master of Us All, William Dunham (This is less a biography more like a compedium, still recommended) Archimedes -> Archimedes, E.J Dijksterhuis(As many on this list,…
on “10,000 Hours with Claude Shannon (2017)” ↗This article reminded me of the story of Robert Oppenheimer. In that case, at least, I think the story of how we destroy our heroes rings true. If any of you enjoy biographies, stories of scientific and engineering heroism, and haven't read "The Making of the…
on “How We Kill Geniuses” ↗…to read this book. I think it will change their lives and channel them to a love of physics (if they are so inclined). It is an example of how so few could influence so many. Personal anecdote. I met Robert Oppenheimer's grandson a few years back and he mentioned that this book is one of the few books that treated his grandfather fairly.
on “Steven Weinberg: Science books for the general reader” ↗…evolution. 14. Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson - Ambitious wreck divers. 15. The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes - Manhattan Project. 16. American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin - Robert Oppenheimer. 17. Conquistador by Buddy Levy - Hernán Cortés and the Aztecs. 18. Cadillac Desert by Marc Reisner - Water infrastructure in the American West. 19. The Wright Brothers by David McCullough - The invention…
on “Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things” ↗…Richard Feynman, The Pleasure of Finding Things Out - Jonathan Slack, Stem Cells: A Very Short Introduction - John Scalzi, Fuzzy Nation (bought the audiobook for Wil Wheaton's narration) - Ray Monk, Robert Oppenheimer: A Life Inside the Center - Alastair Reynolds, Revelation Space - David C. Cassidy, Beyond Uncertainty: Heisenberg, Quantum Physics, and the Bomb Found full of BS, did not finish: - Noam Chomsky,…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2015?” ↗My knowledge of Oppenheimer is purely from the book Robert Oppenheimer by Ray Monk, but his title might be "the most important manager to have ever lived". He himself didn't make any big, groundbreaking discoveries (though he was close). His greatest seems to be in understanding…
on “Why Oppenheimer Deserves His Own Movie [video]” ↗…(of itself) is meaningful at all. Yikes, I meant ... you cannot pursue happiness for happiness' sake. It's a byproduct of living. Happiness is an oblique outcome of being - of existing. I like what Robert Oppenheimer wrote to his brother Frank in one of his letters: "Everyone wants rather to be pleasing to women and that desire is not altogether, though it is very largely, a manifestation of vanity. But one cannot…
on “My TEDx Talk about Entrepreneurial Depression / Happiness” ↗This was the most important part of the Malcolm Gladwell book. That chapter, *Trouble With Geniuses Part 2, compares the lack of success by super genius Chris Langan to Robert Oppenheimer who graduated with honors despite attempted murder of a university faculty. Anybody who has submitted a proposal to a standards body knows this experience. It does not matter how amazing or ingenious…
on “The myth of the myth of the lone genius” ↗…quote helped me find the thing I was trying to remember in my sibling comment https://news.ycombinator.com/reply?id=34115186&goto=item%3Fi... With your quote helping, the reference from the book is: Robert Oppenheimer oversaw all this activity with self-evident competence and an outward composure that almost everyone came to depend upon. “Oppenheimer was probably the best lab director I have ever seen,” Teller repeats,…
on “Turn Your Best Programmers into Managers” ↗American Prometheus, by Kai Bird and Marin J. Sherwin It is based on ~20 years of research about Robert Oppenheimer, and is the inspiration for the movie Oppenheimer. Robert Oppenheimer is the scientist who lead the development of the first atomic bomb. > Less interested in people and character studies. More interested…
on “Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things” ↗