A Life in Twilight The Final Years of J. Robert Oppenheimer

by Wolverton, Mark

• ISBN13: 9780312374402
• ISBN10: 0312374402
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-11-11
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Summary

A Life in Twilightreveals the least-known and most enigmatic period of J. Robert Oppenheimer's life, from the public humiliation he endured after the 1954 Atomic Energy Commission's investigation into his alleged communist leanings and connections to his death in 1967. It covers Oppenheimer's continued work as a scientist and philosopher and head of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, his often controversial public appearances, as well as parts of his private life. What emerges is a portrait of a man who was toppled from the highest echelons of politics and society, had to see his honor and name blackened, but succeeded in maintaining his dignity and rebuilding a shattered life, although he never truly recovered from the McCarthy-inspired persecution he suffered. Previously unpublished FBI files round out the picture and cast a sinister cloud over Oppenheimer's final years, during which he remained under occasional surveillance. Mark Wolverton has succeeded in presentingan evenhanded and very well- researched account of a life that ended in twilight. It reads like a written version of the acclaimed filmGood Night, and Good Luck, and indeed Murrow's interview with Oppenheimer is one of the central elements of the story. A Life in Twilightis an important exploration, not only of a prominent scientist and philosopher, but also of an unforgettable era in American history.

Author Biography

Mark Wolverton is the author of The Depths of Space and The Science of Superman. His articles on science, technology, and history have appeared in Scientific American, American Heritage of Invention & Technology, Air & Space Smithsonian, Skeptical Inquirer, Quest, and American History, among other magazines. He is also an accomplished dramatist and lives near Philadelphia.

Table of Contents

Prelude	p. 3
The Edge of Mystery
The Scientist and the Reporter	p. 13
The Sage of Princeton	p. 29
The Price of Celebrity	p. 43
The Bleak Face of Unhumanity	p. 55
A Rugged Time
A Great Open Windy World	p. 71
The Climate of Suspicion	p. 83
A Sense of Panic	p. 95
Rumblings of Redemption	p. 109
A Universal Confusion
The Answer to Fear	p. 127
The Otherness of People	p. 141
A Good Augury	p. 155
A Kind of Humanity	p. 171
Courage and Hope
Honor and Respect	p. 189
Charity and Courage	p. 203
Darkness and Light	p. 219
The Public and the Private	p. 233
Responsibility and Guilt	p. 247
The All-Encompassing Dark
The Sad Account	p. 263
Quartet in C-sharp Minor	p. 279
The Persistence of Dignity	p. 293
Afterword and Acknowledgments	p. 307
Notes	p. 311
Select Bibliography	p. 325
Index	p. 329
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