The enigma of Robert Oppenheimer: New biography revisits the man behind the atomic bomb - review

A review of David Rieff's new biography 'Robert Oppenheimer: The Sphinx Without a Secret' examines the Manhattan Project director through his Jewish identity and formative experiences, arguing his ambivalence about his Jewishness contributed to his enigmatic personality.

A review of David Rieff's new biography 'Robert Oppenheimer: The Sphinx Without a Secret' examines the scientific director of the Manhattan Project through the lens of his Jewish identity and formative experiences. The book argues that Oppenheimer's ambivalence about his Jewishness contributed to his 'opacity and enigmatic strangeness.' Rieff identifies a consistency beneath Oppenheimer's apparent lack of affect: a determination to live inside the center of establishments, creating an imperative to do his duty at whatever cost. The review notes that Oppenheimer sent three percent of his salary to assist German Jewish scientists in leaving Nazi Germany in 1934, and that his 'continuing, smoldering fury about the treatment of Jews in Germany' led him to support Communist front organizations. Following the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Rieff argues Oppenheimer did not experience a 'What have I done?' moment, though he later told President Truman he 'felt he had blood on his hands.' The review is written by Glenn C. Altschuler, the Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Emeritus Professor of American Studies at Cornell University.