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Does anybody know if this book (or the movie) covers Oppenheimers attempt to murder his teacher with a cyanide laced apple? I don't care to invest time in a b

Does anybody know if this book (or the movie) covers Oppenheimers attempt to murder his teacher with a cyanide laced apple? I don't care to invest time in a biography that whitewashes the man.

superkuh 3y ago
I am actually re-reading it right now (started 6 months ago). No, it doesn't cover that ~1924 event. But it's an excellent book. Ignoring it because it doesn't go into all the people's childhoods seems like an over-reaction. Just to be clear, "The Making of the Atomic Bomb" is about the lead up to and the making of the atomic bomb. It is not about Oppenheimer though it does go into great detail about all the major players.
- mcpackieh 3y ago
  > childhoods 20 year olds shouldn't be considered culpable for attempted murder now? Madness. This is an important biographical detail not only because attempted murder is always relevant, but also because it is relevant to his involvement in an idea to poison Germany's food supply with radioactive strontium. Edit for correction: it happened in 1926, he was 22 years old.
  - superkuh 3y ago
    Yes. The person whom the alleged noxious apple was left for was his tutor. Children have tutors. Adults far more rarely.
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
    - mcpackieh 3y ago
      He was *22 years old, at Cambridge. He should have been expelled for it (not to mention criminally charged) but his father was wealthy so normal rules didn't apply.
    - hgsgm 3y ago
      You can't rewrite history just because you don't know what a word means. A tutor is a teacher at a university.
      - superkuh 3y ago
        You're absolutely right. I was wrong here. The real point I should've addressed is not this tangential one but that the fact of the omission doesn't reduce the value of Rhode's telling of story of the atomic bomb at all. This HN post's existence is due to the book covering Oppenheimer which is currently a hot topic but the book is so much more than that.
    - Jhsto 3y ago
      In Oxbridge tutors are usually either PhD students or post-docs. You're an undergrad if you have a strong opinion about yours, since for them the ratio of tutor per student is quite low (usually 1:3).
  - hgsgm 3y ago
    There's no proof that there was an attempted murder, just hearsay that Oppenheimer said he put noxious chemicals in his tutor's apple.
    - mcpackieh 3y ago
      He confessed to his friends who turned him in. Technically that's hearsay but it's pretty damn convincing.
masfuerte 3y ago
The Times review says this attempted murder is Oppenheimer's first significant act in the film.
- deanc 3y ago
  (Spoiler) Having seen the movie. I can confirm. It’s a relatively insignificant addition to the film though.
- twoodfin 3y ago
  Spoilers!
- mcpackieh 3y ago
  Good, thank you.
twoodfin 3y ago
American Prometheus (the book on which the film is primarily based) covers the event in detail.
vunderba 3y ago
From the Science History Institute: "Fergusson was right to worry. Like all Cambridge students, Oppenheimer had an official tutor. This was an older graduate student who acted like a mentor. His tutor’s name was Patrick Blackett. Blackett was robust, popular, and good with his hands—everything Oppenheimer wasn’t. Oppenheimer developed a seething hatred for him. Things came to a head in 1926 when Oppenheimer put a poisoned apple on Blackett’s desk, then left to vacation in Corsica. Thankfully, Blackett never ate the apple. But Oppenheimer’s Corsica companions spilled the beans, and when Cambridge University found out, the administrators decided to press charges of attempted murder. And they would have. Except, Oppenheimer’s rich father happened to be visiting that week. He begged Cambridge to spare his precious, genius son. So, Oppenheimer got off with mere probation." https://www.sciencehistory.org/stories/disappearing-pod/the-real-tragedy-of-robert-oppenheimer https://www.sciencehistory.org/stories/disappearing-pod/the-... I'd always read that he was somewhat troubled, but this guy was a borderline psychopath.
- mcpackieh 3y ago
  Casts his edgelord Bhagavad Gita quote in a new light, doesn't it?
- elteto 3y ago
  He wasn’t a psychopath, he was going through a complete mental breakdown during that year, and the actual details of what happened are murky. Some say he definitely put the apple there, others doubt it as he was known to exaggerate and make up stories. Cambridge got wind of the _accusation_ and then threatened to press charges but his father intervened. The whole thing is a sad episode in his life, but no need to accuse him of being a psychopath. No psychopath would have changed his mind regarding nuclear proliferation like he did in his later life.
michael_nielsen 3y ago
It's not a biography of Oppenheimer, it's a history of the making of the atomic bomb. Unsurprisingly, the parts of the book that deal with Oppenheimer - only a fraction of the book - are concerned with his involvement in the making of the atomic bomb. It does not mention the apple incident. By contrast, the biography the movie is based on treats the apple incident at some length. Both books are superb, in my opinion, and deserve their Pulitzers.
tedlistens 3y ago
Both, yes
rurban 3y ago
It's in the movie, but heavily simplified, and dramatized. As most of his lifetime hotspots. Such as his affairs.

Does anybody know if this book (or the movie) covers Oppenheimers attempt to murder his teacher with a cyanide laced apple? I don't care to invest time in a biography that whitewashes the man.

superkuh 3y ago

I am actually re-reading it right now (started 6 months ago). No, it doesn't cover that ~1924 event. But it's an excellent book. Ignoring it because it doesn't go into all the people's childhoods seems like an over-reaction. Just to be clear, "The Making of the Atomic Bomb" is about the lead up to and the making of the atomic bomb. It is not about Oppenheimer though it does go into great detail about all the major players.

mcpackieh 3y ago
> childhoods 20 year olds shouldn't be considered culpable for attempted murder now? Madness. This is an important biographical detail not only because attempted murder is always relevant, but also because it is relevant to his involvement in an idea to poison Germany's food supply with radioactive strontium. Edit for correction: it happened in 1926, he was 22 years old.
- superkuh 3y ago
  Yes. The person whom the alleged noxious apple was left for was his tutor. Children have tutors. Adults far more rarely.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - mcpackieh 3y ago
    He was *22 years old, at Cambridge. He should have been expelled for it (not to mention criminally charged) but his father was wealthy so normal rules didn't apply.
  - hgsgm 3y ago
    You can't rewrite history just because you don't know what a word means. A tutor is a teacher at a university.
    - superkuh 3y ago
      You're absolutely right. I was wrong here. The real point I should've addressed is not this tangential one but that the fact of the omission doesn't reduce the value of Rhode's telling of story of the atomic bomb at all. This HN post's existence is due to the book covering Oppenheimer which is currently a hot topic but the book is so much more than that.
  - Jhsto 3y ago
    In Oxbridge tutors are usually either PhD students or post-docs. You're an undergrad if you have a strong opinion about yours, since for them the ratio of tutor per student is quite low (usually 1:3).
- hgsgm 3y ago
  There's no proof that there was an attempted murder, just hearsay that Oppenheimer said he put noxious chemicals in his tutor's apple.
  - mcpackieh 3y ago
    He confessed to his friends who turned him in. Technically that's hearsay but it's pretty damn convincing.

masfuerte 3y ago

The Times review says this attempted murder is Oppenheimer's first significant act in the film.

deanc 3y ago
(Spoiler) Having seen the movie. I can confirm. It’s a relatively insignificant addition to the film though.
twoodfin 3y ago
Spoilers!
mcpackieh 3y ago
Good, thank you.

twoodfin 3y ago

American Prometheus (the book on which the film is primarily based) covers the event in detail.

vunderba 3y ago

From the Science History Institute: "Fergusson was right to worry. Like all Cambridge students, Oppenheimer had an official tutor. This was an older graduate student who acted like a mentor. His tutor’s name was Patrick Blackett. Blackett was robust, popular, and good with his hands—everything Oppenheimer wasn’t. Oppenheimer developed a seething hatred for him. Things came to a head in 1926 when Oppenheimer put a poisoned apple on Blackett’s desk, then left to vacation in Corsica. Thankfully, Blackett never ate the apple. But Oppenheimer’s Corsica companions spilled the beans, and when Cambridge University found out, the administrators decided to press charges of attempted murder. And they would have. Except, Oppenheimer’s rich father happened to be visiting that week. He begged Cambridge to spare his precious, genius son. So, Oppenheimer got off with mere probation." https://www.sciencehistory.org/stories/disappearing-pod/the-real-tragedy-of-robert-oppenheimer https://www.sciencehistory.org/stories/disappearing-pod/the-... I'd always read that he was somewhat troubled, but this guy was a borderline psychopath.

mcpackieh 3y ago
Casts his edgelord Bhagavad Gita quote in a new light, doesn't it?
elteto 3y ago
He wasn’t a psychopath, he was going through a complete mental breakdown during that year, and the actual details of what happened are murky. Some say he definitely put the apple there, others doubt it as he was known to exaggerate and make up stories. Cambridge got wind of the _accusation_ and then threatened to press charges but his father intervened. The whole thing is a sad episode in his life, but no need to accuse him of being a psychopath. No psychopath would have changed his mind regarding nuclear proliferation like he did in his later life.

michael_nielsen 3y ago

It's not a biography of Oppenheimer, it's a history of the making of the atomic bomb. Unsurprisingly, the parts of the book that deal with Oppenheimer - only a fraction of the book - are concerned with his involvement in the making of the atomic bomb. It does not mention the apple incident. By contrast, the biography the movie is based on treats the apple incident at some length. Both books are superb, in my opinion, and deserve their Pulitzers.

tedlistens 3y ago

Both, yes

rurban 3y ago

It's in the movie, but heavily simplified, and dramatized. As most of his lifetime hotspots. Such as his affairs.