Three Books to Read After Oppenheimer

That No One Else Will Recommend

Watching Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, I was reminded of a few good books that aided in my understanding of the film and its events. These are not the typical books that one might obviously recommend after watching the movie, such as Oppenheimer biographies or books explicitly about the atomic bomb development. Rather, these are books that provide a broader context within which one can understand Oppenheimer, both the man and the movie.

Tom Conti as Albert Einstein and Cillian Murphy as Robert Oppenheimer in Oppenheimer (2023)

When Einstein Walked with Gödel

Jim Holt

When Einstein Walked With Gödel: Excursions to the Edge of Thought by Jim Holt. Picture from Farrer, Straus & Giroux on Twitter.

I was unbelievably excited when, early on, I saw Oppenheimer walking up to Einstein walking through the forest with a tall, slim man. I immediately whispered to my wife in the cinema, “that’s Gödel!” Catching a glimpse of Einstein and Gödel’s famous walks through the New Jersey forests in a summer blockbuster is not something I ever imagined I would experience, but it gives me hope that the world has not fallen into complete ruin.

Holt’s book is really a collection of essays covering a rather wide range of subjects, most of which would be rather interesting to anyone who felt vaguely intrigued by the scientific and philosophical topics covered in Oppenheimer. The first chapter is dedicated to Einstein and Gödel’s walks and their unlikeliest of friendships, painting them both not only as the deep-thinking, highly intelligent men that they were, but men of profound friendship and the beautiful solidarity they found in each other.

Oppenheimer himself is brought up later in the book, and the whole thing is a great read.

I should also recommend Why Does the World Exist, also by Holt. Either book can be bought here, or at your local bookstore.

Mythos

Stephen Fry

Mythos by Stephen Fry, UK Edition. Photo from The Book Castle.

The story of Prometheus is fleshed out and told in its context of Greek myth. Fry is a linguistic delight and brings energetic passion to these wonderful stories. If you have ever held even the slightest interest in learning more about the Greek myths, or were simply intrigued by the story of Prometheus in Oppenheimer and want to learn more, Mythos is a great place to start. This is, hands down, the most accessible place to start I have ever come across.

You can buy this wonderful book here, or at your local bookstore.

The Splendid and the Vile

Erik Larson

The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson. Picture from The Lazy Historian.

One of the questions rarely confronted outside of the brilliant Darkest Hour where (ironically) Gary Oldman gives a career-best performance (and that’s saying something) as Churchill desperately trying to convince Roosevelt and the US to help in the fight against the Nazis is what would the outcome have been if the US had sent troops over to Europe sooner?

Gary Oldman played Churchill in Darkest Hour and President Truman in Oppenheimer, the only actor to play both a wartime Prime Minister and a wartime US President on screen.

I think there’s a substantial chance that Japan never would have attacked at Pearl Harbor, and the atomic bombs would never have been dropped.

That’s something to seriously consider. In The Splendid and the Vile, Larson eloquently and vividly portraits Churchill during the war years and provides an all-too-clear depiction of how close Britain was to losing the war and the desperation with which Churchill fought to get the US involved sooner.

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If you’ve read these books, or give them a read as a result of this article, let me know what you think.

Do you have any books to recommend? Let me know using Substack’s chat function.