The General and the Genius

Groves and Oppenheimer - The Unlikely Partnership That Built the Atom Bomb

By: James Kunetka

Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner

Two ambitious men. One historic mission. With a blinding flash in the New Mexico desert in the summer of 1945, the world was changed forever. The bomb that ushered in the atomic age was the product of one of history's most improbable partnerships. The General and the Genius reveals how two extraordinary men pulled off the greatest scientific feat of the 20th century. Leslie Richard Groves of the Army Corps of Engineers, who had made his name by building the Pentagon in record time and under budget, was made overlord of the impossibly vast scientific enterprise known as the Manhattan Project. His mission: to beat the Nazis to the atomic bomb. So he turned to the nation's preeminent theoretical physicist, J. Robert Oppenheimer - the chain-smoking, martini-quaffing son of wealthy Jewish immigrants, whose background was riddled with communist associations - Groves' opposite in nearly every respect. In their three-year collaboration, the iron-willed general and the visionary scientist led a brilliant team in a secret mountaintop lab and built the fearsome weapons that ended the war but introduced the human race to unimaginable new terrors. And at the heart of this most momentous work of World War II is the story of two extraordinary men - the general and the genius.

©2015 James Kunetka (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Insightful deep dive into hidden history

The story is rich, and complicated, and morally ambiguous. A bit of excess detail, but a very big picture view overall.

Shocking murderous war criminals

Great story. Well told. Incomprehensible evil. To use the bomb as they did. Forever shame.

Great context and detail

Loved the story and the performance. Learned a lot about the details in. The Manhattan project

I really didn’t know that much

I’ve read a lot of history of WW2 but I have to confess I really didn’t know very much about the Manhattan Project. Arguably among the most significant scientific projects of modern time. This book begins slowly much like the project did. As the story is revealed the pace and intensity increases and it becomes a page turner. I learned a lot and I have a much greater appreciation for the challenges that had to be overcome. I have referred to this book in several conversations recently. It’s a good book. Give it a try.

Wonderful recounting of how it all came together.

Contains answers to things I always wanted to know. Accessible to readers of all science and military knowledge and interest. Heartily recommend.