by Gregg Herken
proposal regarding renunciation of Super
proposal to share atomic energy information with
recruiting Americans
Sputnik launch
State Defense Committee
and superbomb
test-ban
thermonuclear warheads
Spanish Loyalists
Special Committee on the Los Alamos Project (Univ. of Calif.)
Special Study Group in Air Force Intelligence
Spiers, Ron
spies
Bay Area
Canada
Los Alamos
in nuclear weapons program
Oppenheimer in plot (alleged)
targets for
see also espionage
Sproul, Robert Gordon
and army contract(s)
army-navy E award
and contracts with AEC
and loyalty oath
and Oppenheimer reinvestigation
recruiting Oppenheimer
Sputnik
spy hearings
staged bomb (H-bomb)
Stalin, Joseph
Starbird, Alfred
Stassen, Harold
State Department
Communists in
Panel of Consultants on Disarmament
and test-ban proposal
Stettinius, Edward
Stevenson, Adlai
Stimson, Henry
approach to Russia
Stone, Robert
Stone and Webster (co.)
Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)/“Star Wars”
Strauss, Lewis
AEC chairman
and case against Oppenheimer
and clean bomb
critics of
and espionage
fight against communism
Lawrence and
and Los Alamos spy (“second Fuchs”)
and moratorium idea
obsession with Oppenheimer
and Oppenheimer
and Oppenheimer hearing
recording AEC meetings
report on Oppenheimer hearing
and Russian atomic bomb
and second lab
special assistant for atomic energy
and the Super
and test ban
Strong, George
submarine
ballistic missiles
nuclear
“Super” (the)/superbomb
charge that Oppenheimer delayed
espionage involving
ethical argument against
GAC and
inability to stop
international control of
Livermore
new (radiation implosion)
Oppenheimer opposed
opposition to
postwar research
presentation on status of (1943)
progress toward
proponents of
prospects of
secrets of, compromised
showdown over
simulating explosion of hypothetical
Teller’s work on
Truman’s decision to go ahead with
uncertainties regarding
as way to recover U.S. hegemony
work on
“Super-Gadget Program”
“Super Handbook”
Synchrotron
Szilard, Leo
appeal not to use atomic bomb
Task Force on Nuclear Inspection
see also Project Alpine
Tatlock, Jean
Teapot series (nuclear tests)
technical surveillance (tesur)
Teeple, David
Teller, Edward
and atomic bomb tests
briefs Pentagon officials on H-bomb
and control of atomic energy
and disarmament panel
effect of Oppenheimer case on
FBI interview with (1952)
H-bomb concept
and Hiroshima bombing
history of H-bomb project
hydride bomb
hydrogen bomb
and implosion design (Los Alamos)
Joint Committee interview (1950)
at Los Alamos
at Livermore
and loyalty oath
and Mike test
and moratorium idea
and Oppenheimer hearing
and Oppenheimer’s loyalty
and politics
postwar activities
resignation from Los Alamos
return to Los Alamos
“Russian Atomic Plan, The”
and second lab
seeking vindication
and security strictures
and Soviet bomb
and the Super
and test ban
thermonuclear research
and use of atomic bomb
x-ray laser
Tennessee Eastman Corporation
Tennessee Valley Authority
Tenney, Jack
Tenney Committee
Tesla (test)
test ban
Livermore and
making permanent
opposition to
violation of
test-ban talks
test-ban treaty
tests/testing
atomic bomb
cheating on
clean bomb
control over
detecting
end of
Fat Man
Little Boy
Livermore
moratorium on
safety of
Soviet
thermonuclear
underground
Theoretical Megaton Group (Los Alamos)
thermonuclear reactions
atomic explosion triggering
thermonuclear research/tests
thermonuclear weapons
Thin Man
Thomas, J. Parnell
threshold test ban
Tichvinsky, Leo
Tinian Island
Tolman, Richard
Committee on Postwar Policy (Tolman Committee)
Top Policy Group
Trinity (gadget)
Trinity (test)
tritium
production of
see also Benicia Laboratory
Truman, Harry
atomic monopoly
containment policy
and control of atomic energy
election victory
and Fuchs spy scandal
ignorance of H-bomb
postwar policy
and Soviet atomic bomb
and the Super
Turk (test)
Tuve, Merle
U-235
critical mass
enriched
fissionability of
from gaseous diffusion
production of
shipped to Los Alamos
U-238
Ulam, Stanislaw
Underhill, Robert
United Nations
University of California
army alliance with/funding
Civil Engineering Testing Laboratory (Rad Lab)
contracts with AEC
Faculty Club
LeConte Hall
Oppenheimer at
Personnel Security Boards
security concerns
Soviet spy ring at
University Hospital
see also Berkeley
University of California (UCLA)
University of Chicago
Midway Laboratory
University of Minnesota
uranium
atom splitting
for bomb
contaminants added to (denaturing)
critical mass
moratorium on publication about
shipped to Los Alamos
in superbomb
uranium, enriched/enrichment
given to Russians
/>
production of
uranium bomb
Uranium Committee (Briggs)
uranium gun
see also Little Boy
uranium separation
electromagnetic method
facility for
Urey, Harold
vacuum tube technology/tubes
Van Vleck, John
Vandenberg, Hoyt
Veksler, V. I.
Velde, Harold
Vinograd, Jerome
Volpe, Joseph
Von Kármán, Theodore
von Neumann, John
W-47
Walker, John
Wallace, Henry
Wallace Plan
Walter, James
Weapons Development Committee (Los Alamos)
Weapons Effects Handbook
Weaver, Warren
Weinberg, Joseph (“Joe”)
case against
in Communist Party
identified
investigation of
and Oppenheimer hearing
optics research
Weinberg case
trial
Wheeler, John
Wheeler incident
White, Harry Dexter (Richard)
Whitson, Lish
Wick, Gian Carlo
Wideröe, Rolf
Wigner, Eugene
Wilkes, Dan
Wilson, Carroll
Wilson, Charles
Wilson, Robert
Wilson Tract
Wood, John
Wood, R. W.
Y-12 (Oak Ridge)
postwar
shutting down Calutrons
York, Herbert
clean bomb
at Livermore
test ban
Young Communist League
Zindel, Harold
Zubilin, Vassili (Maxim)
Zuckert, Eugene
Zuni (test)
Also by Gregg Herken
The Winning Weapon: The Atomic Bomb in the Cold War, 1945–1950
Counsels of War
Cardinal Choices: Presidential Science Advising from the Atomic Bomb to SDI
Praise for Brotherhood of the Bomb
“Herken writes with an assurance that enables him to cover a lot of ground swiftly, and to paint the political and scientific landscape in bold strokes.… The story is well-crafted and meticulously researched, drawing on recently declassified FBI files and documents, and it moves at a helter-skelter pace.… A gripping account of three tangled lives.”
—Jennet Conant, The Washington Post Book World
“Immensely readable … a well-written, well-documented, exciting and yet unhappy tale of a crucial encounter between science and politics.”
—David Holloway, Los Angeles Times
“Authoritative … Herken deftly guides us through the scientific-governmental and political-military thicket, explaining how key decisions were made.”
—Roger Bishop, Bookpage
“The power of science and technology is the pivotal story of our times. A bright light is cast on the practical and moral issues by this joint biography of the three physicists most prominent in the rise of nuclear weapons. After half a century, much information once secret has emerged, and Herken has done a thorough job of scouring the archives and contacting witnesses. With his combination of deep research and lively writing, Herken has given us the definitive telling of the story of these extraordinary men in all their conflicts and sad triumphs.”
—Spencer Weart, director, AIP Center for History of Physics
“Herken brings to life a whole world of intrigue, ambition and political passions of every variety.… [It is] smoothly written and notable for its lucid scientific expositions and nice use of human touches … a fresh and original work with much to tell us about the fearsome weapon whose creation, funding and deployment had major social and economic consequences that we live with today.”
—Wendy Smith, Newsweek
“A complete and compelling narrative of the advent of weapons of mass destruction.”
—Science News
“Meticulous and authoritative … might supercede every previous account. A work in league with Richard Rhodes’ Dark Star.”
—Gilbert Taylor, Booklist
“Gregg Herken has written a fine human history of how Lawrence, Teller, and Oppenheimer worked and argued together, and he brings to life the dozen years when they led the world into the nuclear age.”
—Tom Powers, author of Heisenberg’s War: The Secret History of the German Bomb and The Man Who Kept the Secrets: Richard Helms and the CIA
“Exceptionally detailed and thoroughly researched … an extraordinary and revealing examination of the people and atomic issues during and after World War II told with vivid, fast-paced flair … an absorbing history of a perilous time, a political thriller and a moral lesson for the future.”
—David Perlman, San Francisco Chronicle
“Detailed, engrossing … If there was ever a question that politics plays a part in science, this book washes away any doubts.”
—Publishers Weekly
“The dramatic story of physicists who put science at the service of the state, with momentous results for themselves and the world … Thoughtful and important.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“In this engaging and wonderfully researched book, Gregg Herken unveils a new dimension in the American saga of the nuclear scientists who created the world’s first atomic and hydrogen bombs. Here is a suspenseful history of how three brilliant minds overcame daunting obstacles in a time of world crisis. Yet it is not always a pretty story. It is full of troubling insights on Oppenheimer’s flirtation with the Communist Party, Lawrence’s scientific empire-building, and Teller’s compulsion to build bigger and bigger bombs. A timely and thoughtful book.”
—Joseph Albright, coauthor of Bombshell: The Secret Story of America’s Unknown Atomic Spy Conspiracy
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
GREGG HERKEN is a senior historian and curator at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum and previously taught at Oberlin College, Yale University, and Caltech. He is the author of The Winning Weapon, Counsels of War, and Cardinal Choices. Herken received a MacArthur research and writing grant for Brotherhood of the Bomb and in 1984–85 was detailed as a senior research and policy analyst to the President’s Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments, as a result of some of the discoveries he made researching this book. He and his family live in Alexandria, Virginia.
Owl Books
Henry Holt and Company, LLC
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An Owl Book® and ® are registered trademarks of Henry Holt and Company, LLC.
Copyright © 2002 by Gregg Herken
All rights reserved.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Herken, Gregg, 1947–.
Brotherhood of the bomb : the tangled lives and loyalties of Robert Oppenheimer, Ernest Lawrence, and Edward Teller / Gregg Herken.—1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8050-6589-3
ISBN-10: 0-8050-6589-X
1. Oppenheimer, J. Robert, 1904–1967. 2. Lawrence, Ernest Orlando, 1901–1958. 3. Teller, Edward, 1908–. 4. Physicists—United States—Biography. 5. Atomic bomb—United States—History—20th century. 6. Nuclear physics—United States—History—20th century. I. Title.
QC16.O62 H47 2002
539.7'092'273—dc21
[B]
2002017219
First published in hardcover in 2002 by Henry Holt and Company
First Owl Books Edition 2003
A John Macrae / Owl Book
eISBN 9781466851559
First eBook edition: July 2013
* Oppenheimer’s nickname varied a
ccording to time, place, and associates. It was “Opje” while he was a postdoc in Holland, later becoming “Oppy” or “Oppie” when he moved to California. The J at the beginning of his name was given to him at birth by his father, Julius. The initial did not stand for anything, and Oppenheimer rarely used it as an adult. His wife, Kitty, tried—but failed—to get friends to address him as “Robert.”
* Hamilton later achieved notoriety as the physician who oversaw secret human radiation experiments at University Hospital, where three patients were injected with plutonium between 1945 and 1947. Although these experiments were funded by the wartime Manhattan Project and its successor, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, Hamilton’s apparent intent was to identify so-called magic bullets—radioisotopes that would concentrate selectively in different organs—for eventual therapeutic use.
* Wrote Chevalier in a subsequent, fictional account of his friendship with Oppenheimer: “No amount of casuistry, however, could eradicate the fact that in joining the Communist Party, as in taking holy orders or in committing murder, one entered a world that separated one from all those who did not belong to the brotherhood.… [i]t was a world of passion, of dedication and sacrifice, and it bore the future darkly in its womb.”
* “For, on lustful kings, / Unlook’d-for, sudden deaths from heaven are sent, / But curs’d is he who is their instrument.”
The quotation was from the finale of The Maid’s Tragedy, a play written in 1622 by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, English poets who were contemporaries of Donne. It was vintage Oppie.
* In pencil at the bottom, Oppenheimer added this partial disclaimer: “I have endeavored to make this list complete. It includes all organizations to which I now belong. It does not include so-called sponsorships. It includes all past memberships I can remember. I believe it to be accurate.”
* Perhaps anticipating that he would have trouble with the temperamental Hungarian, Oppie invited Edward and his wife, Mici, to Eagle Hill near the seminar’s end. Nearly sixty years later, Teller remembered that Oppenheimer found his house gift—a recording of Mozart’s Piano Concerto in E-flat Major, one of Edward’s favorites—“uninteresting,” and that Oppie predicted only the atomic bomb would be able to dislodge Hitler from Europe.
* Underhill was not told the secret for another year; Sproul probably learned sometime after that. One evening in November 1943, Underhill was summoned to LeConte by Lawrence, who made a show of locking the door and drawing the blinds. “We practically crawled under the desk,” Underhill later remembered. “Do you know what they’re doing down there?” Lawrence asked. Underhill confessed his ignorance and became an initiate. The regents’ representative was also told that he was never to divulge the secret to Sproul, who had appalled Groves by speculating in a commencement address that the Rad Lab was developing a secret “death ray.”
