J. Robert Oppenheimer: A Life

Abstract

The late Abraham Pais wrote the definitive biography of Albert Einstein, "Subtle is the Lord," which won an American Book Award. As a distinguished physicist and Einstein's colleague, Pais combined a sophisticated understanding of physics with first-hand knowledge of this notoriously private individual, offering rare insights into both. It is his unique double perspective that makes his work so valuable. Now Abraham Pais offers an illuminating portrait of another eminent colleague, J. Robert Oppenheimer, one of the most charismatic and enigmatic figures of modern physics. Pais introd. Foreword; Preface; Introduction; CHAPTER 1 First Encounters; CHAPTER 2 Background: Early Years; CHAPTER 3 University Studies; CHAPTER 4 Postdoctoral Studies; CHAPTER 5 The California Professor as Teacher; CHAPTER 6 The California Professor as Researcher; CHAPTER 7 Oppenheimer's Opinion of His Own Teaching and Research in California; CHEPTER 8 Personal Life in the 1930s; CHAPTER 9 "The Shatterer of Worlds"; CHAPTER 10 In Which Oppenheimer Enters the World Stage; CHAPTER 11 An Atomic Scientist's Credo; CHAPTER 12 The Institute Prior to Oppenheimer's Arrival.