5 comments about J. Robert Oppenheimer: Shatterer of Worlds.

1. Captivating look at the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the Manhattan Project and other key figures. Full of interesting details that give the reader an inside view of the genesis of the effort and how it proceeded, the personalities involved, daily life at Los Alamos, scientific knowledge of the time and how theory was put into practice, the politics of WWII, etc. Highly recommended!



2. J. Robert Oppenheimer: Shatter of Worlds is a revolutionary biography that details the most important aspects of Robert Oppenheimer's life and accomplishments as a physicist and creator of a key bridge between government and science. Detailing his influences and inspirations such as Max Born and renowned scientist Albert Einstein, Peter Goodchild outlines Oppenheimer's political struggles as a far-leftist and his personal struggles with the aftermath of the creation of the atom bomb and the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II while simultaneously describing the challenges that his theories in physics raised to the prevalent world view of that time. He is exquisite in providing Oppenheimer with a simple but thorough recount of his life that showcases his accomplishments and influences when other biographies focused on his political associations and the charges of treason that arose during the Cold War. This biography is a profound piece of writing that is easy to follow and understand and will touch you personally as you trace the journey of a troubled and intelligent man from his early days to the peak of physics and science.



3. J. Robert Oppenheimer lead the project at Los Alamos to develop the first atomic bomb, struggled through accusations of being a communist sympathizer, and dealt with the guilt of having created such a terrible device. Peter Goodchild, who also wrote a seven part TV miniseries of Oppenheimer for the BBC, uses newly declassified interviews and pictures from the period in the book to offer a look at what Oppenheimer saw, sensed, and said. Not merely a biography of Oppenheimer, the book goes into great detail of the Los Alamos laboratories which developed the atomic bomb. Illustrations teach some of the basic physics that went into the project without any overwhelming equations or math that could have bored some readers. The book also excellently captures the struggle of the trial against Oppenheimer and the mood of the McCarthy red scare. Throughout the book, America clearly progresses as the characters deal with resistance to change and the after effects of Oppenheimer's work. Unlike many biographies where people simply enter and then leave a person's life, people identified in the first chapter keep coming back, creating a fiction-like web that is compelling to read. I couldn't tear myself away from the pages leading up to the first atomic test because Goodchild's suspenseful writing makes plain nonfiction read like a carefully crafted and extremely compelling story.
   The book tells of the man, the physics, and the times.



4. I thoroughly enjoyed the original BBC documentary and the book
   is an equally interesting companion. Oppenheimer comes across
   as a fascinating character in the history of science.

   He seems (to me) to be in the process of being written out of
   history or at least reduced to a small footnote as an anonymous
   technician identified as "father of the atomic bomb". This
   very readable biography show he was a complex man and an
   influential figure in twentieth century science and culture.




5. After reading "Robert Oppenheimer and the atomic story" I felt that I knew Mr. Oppenheimer. The author wrote the book so that all the information could be learned and still be interesting. I learned every little fact about Mr. Oppenheimer and came out with a greater appreciation for him and his work.
   
   The reason he is worthy of a book is mostly because he was the man behind the atomic bomb. He is most famous for this but he also accomplished many other great things in nuclear fission and quantum physics.

   I started reading this book because I had to but after reading it I gained an appreciation and a greater understanding for a great man. If you are doing a report or are just interested in Robert Oppenheimer I strongly suggest that you read this book.

5 comments about The Remarkable Life of William Beebe: Explorer And Naturalist.

1. I read the editorial review above for this book and almost didn't read it. I have to say I disagree with it. The biography does not necessarily focus on all his Beebe's personal issues, but it is a vibrant and gripping read about a very unique man. I thought it was extremely well done.
   
   Born in the last quarter of the nineteenth century in Brooklyn, it was still a world of forests and wildlife nearby for him to explore. This love of nature, and comfort away from the trappings of civilisation stayed with him all his life. But he also had this almost supernatural ability to dissociate himself from his possible fate - or even his reality and instead go beyond that to look at what was happening around him. So his observations were extraodinary.
   
   He was the first person to be travel down to 2000ft in the ocean in a small metal capsule. The enormous pressures could have caved in the tiny craft - it did even start leaking at some stage. Yet he broadcast live from it, and managed to make some ground breaking observations about his time there and the strange animals which dwelt there - some of which have never been seen since.
   
   Gould has divided this biography into four distinct sections which followed his life, Naturalist, Ornithologist, Marine Biologist and Tropical Ecologist.
   
   this is illustrated throughout with printed pictures on each page, the only drawback is that these pictures are all of poor to fair quality - a problem of matt paper combined with size of pictures and that they are all in black and white.
   
   Beebe's life is worth reading about and I think Gould's biography is an excellent reference, readable and engaging.



2. This is one of the most remarkable and enticing biographies I've ever read. I am a professional biologist and have always wanted to be able to express my enthusiasm for my work in words than transcend the sterility of "modern" science and politics. This work does this and I could only hope to express my own work in such an elegant way. I think Carol Grant Gould has done an exceptional job. Despite the restictions imposed upon her, I am mystified how she managed to pierce the veil that clouds the achievements of many scientists behind veils of scientific and religious intolerance. A remarkable work.



3. Adventure travelers interested in both nature and action will relish biographer Carol Grant Gould's Remarkable Life Of William Beebe: Explorer And Naturalist, an armchair biography which tells of one William Beebe, who became the first to see the ocean depths in a bathysphere, trekked the Himalayas and Malaysia in the early 1900s to study ecology, and brainstormed with Roosevelt and other naturalists of his times. A remarkable life and a series of remarkable contributions comes vividly to life in this memorable, entertaining, and highly recommended biography.



4. William Beebe was at one time as famous as any naturalist can be, and justly so. Today, few have heard of him. It is no surprise that fame is fickle, and that a latter generation forgets the heroes of the former, but Beebe's is an extreme example. In _The Remarkable Life of William Beebe, Explorer and Naturalist_ (Island Press), Carol Grant Gould has given a full, big biography of one of the most amazing men who ever lived. Beebe worked in zoos. He took expeditions to identify and capture specimens from Indonesia, South America, and China. He broke records in deep sea diving in the bathysphere that was designed for him. He wrote two dozen books that were best sellers, widely appreciated by the public and by professional scientists who shared his realm of study. He was so famous that in the original play of _The Man Who Came to Dinner_, the hot-tempered protagonist receives an octopus shipped from Beebe, and audiences immediately understood the joke, as they do not, now, when they see the play in revival. If time has passed Beebe by, his influence is still substantial, and Gould has performed a useful service in bringing him back for us to wonder at.
   
   Beebe was born in Brooklyn in 1877, when his neighborhood had wild woods that he could explore. He was a prodigy. Many kids set out to collect things, but the young Beebe kept snakes, learned taxidermy to keep snake and bird specimens, bought or traded for exotic specimens, and camped and hiked to get more. School was a breeze for him, but he loved being out in the field. In a final entry in an 1893 journal, he wrote, "To be a Naturalist is better than to be a King." The exuberance which this youthful manifesto exemplifies never left him. He became Assistant Curator of Birds at the new Bronx Zoological Park, but his career of exploring for the sake of discoveries in natural history took off when he left with his wife for an official exploit to Mexico. The press and public were enthusiastic about his account of the trip, the first of his bestsellers. Sometimes being a popularizer detracted from appreciation of his scientific work, but there was plenty of both. His voyages made him fascinated with sea life, and he became an adept diver, applying the same principles of studying a broad, three dimensional swath rather than individual inhabitants. In 1930, he and his engineer were "sealed in a spherical steel coffin and thrown into the ocean." Especially on initial dives, as the readings approached 800 feet, he had to be scared; he wrote, "Only dead men have sunk below this." Eventually, he was to broadcast his observations live from such a descent, a radio event that caused a sensation.
   
   Beebe died in 1962, always grabbing as much of life and learning as he could. He was an entertaining friend, and among the visitors to these pages are Noël Coward, Gertrude Lawrence, Rebecca West, and especially Teddy Roosevelt. More important, he inspired biologists such as Rachel Carson, Ernst Mayr, and Edward O. Wilson. His emphasis on studying an ecosystem as a whole was original and vastly influential. Gould obviously admires his popular writings, many of which are quoted here, but shows that his scientific work is monumental. Calling his a remarkable life is indeed an understatement.



5. This is a wonderful book - a really engrossing story about an amazing man who was both an explorer and a scientist during the last century. If they made a movie about him, he'd probably be styled as an Indiana Jones type character, as he really did look death in the eye a few times in his lifetime - particularly during the dives he made in `the bathysphere' off Bermuda in the 1930s (the bathysphere being a sort of cast iron bubble with tiny windows, which was winched off the side of a boat, and dropped down to a depth of half a mile underwater). But in my mind's eye Beebe was more like a David Niven sort of person, because as well as having a passionate interest in exploring the natural world, he was a really gifted writer, had an enormous sense of humour, and was quite dapper and a great believer in cocktails all round in the late afternoon! And when he wasn't travelling the world, he was feted in New York society circles by people like Katherine Hepburn, Noel Coward and Rudyard Kipling. The book is really enjoyable and easy to read, and quite inspiring too - transporting you back to a bygone age. And it has LOADS of pictures, which bring it to life all the more. Lovely - good antidote to grim winter weather!

No comments about Miracle At Kitty Hawk: The Letters Of Wilbur and Orville Wright.

2 comments about Schweitzer: A Biography.

1. This is a fine biography of one of the greatest humanitarians of the twentieth century. During his lifetime, (ninety years) Schweitzer the great man transformed into Schweitzer the great myth; the great white hope, saving the bodies and souls of the primitive black man of Africa. In our post colonial age, with its post modern, abstract cultural theories of the `other', Schweitzer became an easy target for cultural critics, using the man and his work as representative of everything evil about the self-perceived superiority of Western man over `primitive cultures'. It is without question, that, for the most part, European imperialism justified their greedy exploitation of developing countries as efforts to `civilize' them. Our culture, knowledge and religion were superior to these `savages', and while we stole their natural resources, we gave them enlightenment. Further to this, however, as we stole and enlightened, we also gave them our diseases, which, in some cases, virtually wiped out entire peoples. From the very beginning, Albert Schweitzer was aware of the European's injustices to these people, and deeply felt some kind of atonement or restitution had to be made. Schweitzer's intention was to essentially help; his inspiring example paved the way for present humanitarian organizations to make a difference or at least become more effective in their aid. This biography successfully dismantles the `great white hope' myth, and presents the man as an insightful critic of Western values and traditional theology, a man who lived his philosophy - or as Schweitzer said, "Live his argument". One can never truly understand or judge someone based on what they say or what they write; only through the results of a person's actions can we really know them. Marshall and Poling's biography of Schweitzer includes his writing and many quotes from conversations and interviews, but argue his greatness from the stand point of his actions. In other words, his fifty years of service and the establishment of the Lambarene hospital, speaks for itself.

   Schweitzer became aware of his mission to serve his fellow travellers on this planet somewhat late in life. An established philosopher and theologian at age thirty, a principal of a respected seminary, he awoke one morning to realize everything life had given him, and it was time to give back. After reading an article calling for trained medical staff to work in West Africa, he knew what he needed to do. Against heavy opposition from family and friends, he returned to university as a mature-aged student to study medicine, attaining his degree. The public know much about his early life but as his daughter, Rhena Schweitzer, writes in the Forward, "It is the first biography that gives an account of the last years of my fathers live. It helps explain and dissipates some of the false ideas about his relationship to the Africans." This book dispels these falsehoods and myths, and is also a sensitive and objective appraisal of a man and his life.

   An inspiring read.




2. A brilliant bravo to a task well done. G. Marshall & D. Poling have captured succinctly the life of the last of the 'Enlightenment' minds. Albert Schweitzer was true to the principles of reason, naturalism and thought. He took these principles and undauntedly applied them to his religion and his culture. Albert Schweitzer was a critic of Christianity and modern civilization and this book captures Albert Schweitzer, "the critic".

   In the world and church around him he saw conformity and the lack of individual reflection. This is a book about a nonconformism, a brilliant theologian/philosopher and a humanitarian genius.

   Unlike other biographies of Schweitzer I have read, these authors write with a fluid, engaging style, pulling you closer to the man that they knew and profiled. Albert Schweitzer lived 90 years and the length of his life is a challenge that biographers must face. They must capture the individualistic spirit of Albert Schweitzer youth, the brilliance of his middle years and the tenacity of his old age.

   Albert Schweitzer's Nobel Peace Prize in 1953 spoke of his sacrificial work in Africa, his vital practical philosophy of life, his call to clear comprehension of the historic Jesus that Christianity needs to embrace, his musical brilliance, his compassion for the animal kingdom and his love of healing. Yet, to brush stroke with ink a portrait of this unbelievable figure is a demanding undertaking and Marshall and Poling have done it right, and they did right to one of the greatest personalities of the twentieth century. Strongly recommended. 4.5 Stars.

4 comments about William Mulholland and the Rise of Los Angeles.

1. One of the great stories in American history was the transformation of Los Angeles from a sleepy, anarchic California town into the megalopolis of today. And in any history of this transformation, the figure of William Mulholland looms large, for it was he who almost single-handedly brought about this transformation by providing Los Angeles with the one thing it needed to grow: an abundant water supply. This was accomplished by building an aqueduct to divert water from the Owens River to L.A. But this was no peaceful project; residents of Owens Valley, farmers and ranchers, felt the water had been appropriated from them through cronyism and legal bullying. They retaliated by blowing up sections of the aqueduct in 1924 and 1927. Mulholland himself met his own downfall with the collapse of the St. Francis Dam in 1928, a disaster that killed over 500 people and destroyed Mulholland's career.
   
   These are but parts of a great story in American history, but one would never know it from reading his granddaughter's tome, for the vivacity of the times is thoroughly lost in needless detail; almost a year by year survey of her grandfather's accomplishments. Instead she is more intent on refuting the critics' charges, painting Mulholland as a pragmatist guided by a progressive vision of what Los Angeles could become. Because of this stand, her arguments are not altogether convincing; the Owens Valley residents tend to be painted as villains exploited by villains on the press that seek Mulholland's downfall. In the Preface we are given warning of this bias when she takes previous books on the subject to task. Her attempt at exonerating her grandfather for the St. Francis Dam disaster is also unconvincing, almost as if she were attempting to refute the movie "Chinatown", itself a piece of fictionalized history.
   
   If by reading the above paragraph one thinks this biography is lively, think again. The best way to obfuscate an issue is to bury it in details, and the book covers its subject almost year by year, which is a shame given the subject matter and the presence of Mulholland, a mover and shaker who, unfortunately, became a prisoner of his own vision. Mulholland's life is akin to a Greek tragedy, and this is the stuff of which history is made, not the mere recitation of facts. The tragedy is that, given the subject matter, this book could have been so much more than it turned out to be.



2. This book follows the entire sequence of events that lead the city of Los Angeles from a small agricultural town with a population of 10,000 in 1880 to become one of the major cities in North Americia. I thought that I knew about Mulholland before I read this book. Even today he is a minor legend in southern California. The real story is presented here. This book is well organized, well written, and very objective.



3. Catherine Mulholland sets the tone of the book in the preface, where she focuses on putting previous publications in their place, and states her reliance on newspapers of the time. As pointed out in an earlier publication (Water and Power by W. Kahrl) newspapers are an unreliable source of information because they tend to reflect the bias of the publisher at the time. Mr. Kahrl relied on official records and documents whereas Ms. Mulholland relied more on newspaper accounts and less on official documents.

   In large part the book covers the life and times of William Mulholland, but it certainly leaves the reader with the impression that he did only good in his lifetime. Unfortunately the book ignores or does not respond to much of the criticism heaped upon Mr. Mulholland by more contemporary publications, and instead focuses on his positive contributions. In this respect the book is not entirely well balanced. Although well written I fear that this book is an attempt by the family to have the final word on the history of a complex man who was more dimensional than the author allows.




4. You would think a biography by a grand-daughter may tend to the less objective side. Catherine Mulholland's work is a referenced account of the fight for municipal control of water, and subsequently power, in the early 1900's in Los Angeles. Mulholland takes you by the hand, almost as if you were on an tour with "The Chief", through Willaim Mulhollands childhood, departure from Ireland, to eventual settlement in Los Angeles. From there she cronicles the water needs of the pueblo (pop. 10,000); Mulhollands rise from digger to the designer of the Los Angeles Aquaduct; his management of the political arena to the St. Francis Dam. It was the 'over success' of Bill Mulholland to bring water to a desert that allowed the expotential growth of Los Angeles in area and character. Discriptions of the water works are fascinating - some surviving parts of it still are in use. If you have ever wondered what the real story was behind the film "Chinatown", this is it.

No comments about Champions of Invention (Champions of Discovery).

No comments about Grit-Tempered (Early Women Archaeologists in Southeastern United States).

No comments about George Perkins Marsh: Prophet of Conservation (Weyerhaeuser Environmental Books).

3 comments about The Great Safari: The Lives of George and Joy Adamson, Famous for Born Free.

1. It's an excellent, no-holds-barred book giving the plus and minuses of the human stars: George and Joy Adamson. And it's a book of triumphs and failures. The book is precise, but it does have some gaps which are filled by reading George Adamson's book My Pride and Joy. If you care about the most majestic of Africa's wildlife, this is a must book. But if you want to learn more about the nature of wildlife, particuarly lions, read My Pride and Joy. I highly recommend both books.



2. This book is a fascinating review of two very complex people. It doesn't gloss over their strengths or weaknesses. They led amazing lives in a world we'll never see again. I enjoyed every chapter.



3. I liked this book particularly because it didn't report something as fact unless there was something to back it up or that the writer personally witnessed. Adrian House uses a lot of George and Joy Adamson's own diaries, unpublished writings, and personal letters to give a good glimpse into the personal lives of the couple. It also gives a detailed account of their murders and the circumstances leading up to them. I would recommend this book as a well rounded biography that looks critically into the lives of two unique and amazing people.

No comments about A Laboratory for Anthropology: Science and Romanticism in the American Southwest, 1846-1930 (University of Arizona Southwest Centre).