Bücher von Kai Bird

***SOON TO BE A MAJOR HOLLYWOOD FILM DIRECTED BY CHRISTOPHER NOLAN***WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR NONFICTION 'Reads like a thriller, gripping and terrifying' Sunday TimesPhysicist and polymath, as familiar with Hindu scriptures as he was with quantum mechanics, J. Robert Oppenheimer - director of the Manhattan Project that developed the atomic bomb - was the most famous scientist of his generation. In their meticulous and riveting biography, Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin reveal a brilliant, ambitious, complex and flawed man, profoundly involved with some of the momentous events of the twentieth century.

Das Hörbuch zum Kino-Highlight im Sommer 2023J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967), der »Vater der Atombombe«, zählt zu den schillerndsten Figuren der jüngeren Zeitgeschichte. Für ihre glänzende Biographie des »amerikanischen Prometheus« erhielten der Journalist Kai Bird und der Historiker Martin J. Sherwin den Pulitzer-Preis. Exemplarisch lassen sie das Drama eines Forschers lebendig werden, der sich zwischen Erkenntnisdrang und ethischer Verantwortung entscheiden muss.Oppenheimer leitete das streng geheime Manhattan-Projekt in der Wüste von New Mexico, wo am 16. Juli 1945 die erste Atombombe gezündet wurde. Kurz darauf starben in Hiroshima und Nagasaki mehr als 200 000 Menschen durch die neue »Wunderwaffe« - die Menschheit war ins Atomzeitalter eingetreten. Erschüttert von der Zerstörungskraft seiner Schöpfung, engagierte sich Oppenheimer fortan gegen den Einsatz nuklearer Waffen. Das machte ihn im Amerika der McCarthy-Ära verdächtig. Er geriet ins Visier des FBI, wurde als Spion der Sowjetunion verleumdet und musste den Staatsdienst quittieren. Sein Privatleben wurde an die Öffentlichkeit gezerrt, seine Wohnung verwanzt, sein Telefon abgehört. Erst 1963 rehabilitierte ihn Präsident Kennedy. Über dreißig Jahre hinweg haben die Autoren Interviews mit Oppenheimers Angehörigen, Freunden und Kollegen geführt, FBI-Akten gesichtet, Tonbänder von Reden und Verhören ausgewertet und Oppenheimers private Aufzeichnungen eingesehen. Ihre beeindruckend gründliche Biographie gewährt intimen Einblick in diese charismatische Persönlichkeit, bei der Triumph und Tragik so nahe beieinander lagen.Kai Bird arbeitet weltweit als Journalist. Er war Kolumnist und Mitherausgeber von The Nation.Martin J. Sherwin war Professor für angelsächsische Geschichte und wurde mit zahlreichen Preisen ausgezeichnet.

American Prometheus. The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer.Vpervye na russkom jazyke! Odna iz glavnyh publicisticheskih knig goda. Pervaja polnaja biografija sozdatelja atomnoj bomby, podrobno opisyvajushhaja ego put' ot rannego detstva do poslednih dnej zhizni. Obladatel' Pulitcerovskoj premii v nominacii «Luchshaja biografija». Kniga, kotoraja legla v osnovu scenarija novogo fil'ma Kristofera Nolana. Prem'era «Oppengejmera» sostoitsja uzhe v ijule 2023 goda, glavnuju rol' ispolnit Killian Merfi. Pervaja polnaja i podrobnaja biografija «otca atomnoj bomby» Dzh. Roberta Oppengejmera - velikogo i harizmatichnogo uchenogo, kotoryj sozdal oruzhie, sposobnoe unichtozhit' mir. No, osoznav posledstvija svoej raboty posle tragedii Hirosimy i Nagasaki, on nachal bor'bu za mezhdunarodnyj kontrol' nad jadernoj jenergiej, a takzhe jarostno vystupal protiv razrabotki vodorodnoj bomby. Oppengejmera nenavideli vysokopostavlennye storonniki «jadernogo prevoshodstva SShA», za nim vel nepreryvnuju slezhku direktor FBR Jedgar Guver, izuchaja kazhdyj ego shag i kazhdoe slovo. Reputaciju uchenogo celenapravlenno unichtozhali, zapisyvaja v izmenniki rodiny. Odnako vremja vse rasstavilo na svoi mesta... Ego neprostaja zhizn' - kljuch k ponimaju nedavnego proshlogo i osoznaniju oshibok, kotoryh mozhno izbezhat' v budushhem.

Against the backgrounds of World War II, the Cold War, the construction of Pax Americana, the Cuban missile crisis, the Kennedy assassination, and Vietnam, Bird shows us McCloy’s astonishing rise from self-described “chore boy” to “chairman of the Establishment.” His powerful circle shaped the postwar globe. But McCloy stood out among them as a towering figure of achievement: as a Wall Street lawyer who earned the confidence of captains of industry and presidents; as Henry Stimson’s right-hand man at the War Department; as president of the World Bank and chairman of the Chase financial empire; and as presidential adviser. Bird captures every facet of this self-made man. We see McCloy’s commercial acumen as the most in-demand lawyer of Wall Street; his dictatorial will as high commissioner of occupied Germany; and his stoic loyalty as adviser to Presidents FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Carter, Ford, and Reagan. Bird brilliantly explores how McCloy came to epitomize the American Establishment and the values of a generation that led the United States through bitter war and unparalleled prosperity.

American Prometheus, a riveting book penned by the esteemed author Martin J. Sherwin, is an exploration of intrigue and intellect. Published by Random House LCC US in 2006, this book has since been a beacon of its genre. The narrative delves deep into the complexities of human nature and the world we inhabit. Sherwin, through his masterful storytelling, paints a vivid picture that captivates the reader's imagination. This book is not just a mere collection of pages, but a journey that transports you to a different realm. Published by Random House LCC US, American Prometheus is a testament to the power of literature and its ability to shape our understanding of the world around us.

"e;Grey is the color of truth."e; So observed Mac Bundy in defending America's intervention in Vietnam. Kai Bird brilliantly captures this ambiguity in his revelatory look at Bundy and his brother William, two of the most influential policymakers of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. It is a portrait of fiercely patriotic, brilliant and brazenly self-confident men who directed a steady escalation of a war they did not believe could be won. Bird draws on seven years of research, nearly one hundred interviews, and scores of still-classified top secret documents in a masterful reevaluation of America's actions throughout the Cold War and Vietnam.