The General and the Genius: Groves and Oppenheimer—The Unlikely Partnership that Built the Atom Bomb

by James W. Kunetka

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 twentieth 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's 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.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Science, World War II, Audiobook, American History

480 pages, Hardcover

First published November 3, 2015

Reviews

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

More readers may be familiar with American Prometheus by Kai Bird than this book by James W. Kunetka. Bird’s book was used as the background for the 2023 film Oppenheimer. I decided to read The General and the Genius before reading Bird’s book (not read yet). By title this one promises to be a biography of two men critical to the Los Alamos project. The subject is actually more involved. Kunetka begins by comparing and contrasting the two men, the general, Leslie Groves was from a modest background, big and gruff and was a genius in his own way, specializing in managing and developing large projects. The genius of the title is of course Oppenheimer, from a monied background, a student of Eastern religions, now famous for citing the Bhagavad Gita after the Trinity bomb test “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” Oppenheimer was tall, slim and had a comparatively rare background in theoretical physics and good sense in dealing with people.

The author goes over those comparisons and contrasts many times in the book, probably more than necessary. I began to appreciate the book more as it got into the actual Project Y at Los Alamos NM and followed through the still experimental and time pressured experiments and final explosion of the bomb in the Trinity test further south in New Mexico. The book then follows the story through the two bombings in Japan, the end of the war, and the gradual diminishing of the Los Alamos site. The two men’s stories are briefly followed after the war.

Physics is naturally a part of the book and the author explains things as simply as possible. Those parts did not exactly bring joy to me but there is no way I would ever be able to grasp that. The WWII history and times was very interesting and the history of the project was very engaging.

[Lorna · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Los Alamos had a long and colorful history. The landscape had been forged in volcanic fire and violence millions of years before. The Jemez Mountains rimmed a giant-eye-shaped caldera. This ancient lake slowly wore away part of the rim to form the Jemez River gorge. Pajarito Plateau, created by several large ash flows five million years ago, resembles an outstretched hand, each finger a mesa. Between the mesas are canyons two hundred to four hundred feet deep, with precipitous multicolored cliffs eroded from the volcanic tuff. The mesas rise gently to the west, where they abut the Sierra de los Valles. The western edge of Pajarito Plateau is over eight thousand feet above sea level, and the peaks of the Jemez Mountains rise another two thousand feet."

And it is to this remote and beautiful mesa in northern New Mexico where author James Kunetka begins The General and the Genius: Groves and Oppenheimer the Unlikely Partnership that Built the Bomb. It was this unlikely partnership between these very dissimilar men; two extraordinary men that brought to fruition the greatest scientific feat of the twentieth century with the vast scientific enterprise known as the Manhattan Project with the development and deployment of an atom bomb. This book concentrates on the three-year collaboration between the iron-willed General Leslie Richard Groves and the visionary scientist, J. Robert Oppenheimer. They led a brilliant team of physicists and engineers sequestered in a top-secret mountain top laboratory amid the many clashes between military and academic cultures. All this was taking place in secret while around the globe some of the greatest battles in history were being waged. This was singly the momentous work of World War II, ending the war in the Japanese theater but introducing the world to imaginable new terrors.

"Los Alamos was a gamble. As commanding general and the man with the most to lose--Groves pushed and bullied his Manhattan Project as hard as he could. He wanted the atomic bomb delivered in time for use in the war. Oppenheimer also understood that Los Alamos was a gamble, and he too wanted to win. His tactics were less brutal and more circumspect. Where Groves commanded, Oppenheimer inspired. But there were barriers that both men had to overcome; a series of fundamental scientific and technological unknowns."

"But the jewel in the crown, the most secret of all General Grove's operations, sat on a mountaintop in northern New Mexico, isolated amid spectacular scenery and known to comparatively few. And those outsiders who did know of the small community on Los Alamos Plateau were mostly the residents of nearby Indian pueblos or towns like Santa Fe and Albuquerque, who, like the residents of Oak Ridge and Hanford, assumed the quirky residents of the plateau were engaged in some esoteric war work. Which is why the Hill was unique and extraordinary place to live and work during World War II."

"Except, as Oppie was fond of saying, everyone lived in splendid isolation. He meant the land and the sky. It was this magical combination of mesas and mountain--deep, riveted canyons and multihued cliffs, and virtually unlimited sky--that had so enchanted Oppenheimer in his youth and drew him back again and again in the decades before the war. It was why he wanted his secret laboratory located here."

James Kunetka writes very eloquently of the aftermath of unrest and turmoil following the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But in the end, it came down to the fact that the decision to use the atomic bomb was made by a combination of statesmen and military leaders and, finally by the president of the United States. Shortly after Oppenheimer joined 191 of his colleagues in a petition sent to both the president and members of Congress arguing for national and international control of atomic energy. With the increasing debate over nuclear weapons in Washington, Oppenheimer was forced to deal with the reality of a postwar Los Alamos. General Groves faced a different reality with the huge production facilities of Hanford and Oak Ridge. While they had a single purpose, that of production of critical material, Los Alamos served both research and production needs. From Grove's perspective, it seemed best to keep Los Alamos operating as it was with a few minor adjustments.

"For some there was hesitation and a sense of foreboding. Oppenheimer later said that he recalled the words of Bhagavad Gita:
I am become death,
The shatterer of worlds."

[Micah Cummins · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE GENERAL AND THE GENIUS by James Kunetka is a wonderful book that shines light on two incredible men and their massive contributions to one of the most important events of the twentieth century. Kunetka beautifully weaves together aspects of biography, military history, and science, which forms a very accessible book. I had a very limited knowledge of Oppenheimer heading into this book, and all I knew of General Groves was his name. I am now much more secure in my understanding and appreciation of these two men, as well as understanding fully the challenges they both overcame and the extreme odds they were facing. I greatly enjoyed THE GENERAL AND THE GENIUS, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants a better understanding of two of the largest figures behind the "Manhattan Project" and the political atmosphere both during the project and after the use of the atom bombs. Five Stars.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very thorough book which doesn’t give as much on either Groves or Oppenheimer as much as individual biographies would. Nor is it necessarily a book that is always focused on the relationship between the two. Rather, a chapter or so is given to each individual, then a few chapters focused on the relationship between the two during the recruitment process for Los Alamos and the setup, and then it’s just a straight shot through the development of the atomic bomb, its transfer, the Enola Gay, and the aftermath.

[Ashlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title and blurbs suggest this book might dive into interpersonal relationships of Dr. Oppenheimer and General Groves, but that isn't actually the case. I've read several books about the Manhattan Project and this didn't really give much more insight into the personal lives of the central figures. It's decent as a general overview of the history of the project, but it's also not the best general history either - that distinction goes to The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes.

If you don't know much about the wartime efforts to build the bomb, this is a good starting point. If you've read other books about the Manhattan Project, feel free to skip this one. You won't learn anything new.

[Girish · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those history books that objectively sets a debate straight. The episode focussing on the lives of the people behind the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki is captured in detail with a lot of context.

Arguably the most debated product of science and war has been the atomic bomb. The book tells the story of the research lead by General Groves and program managed by Oppenheimer. It tells about the scientific choices available like Plutonium Vs Uranium, triggering mechanism etc which, if you are not science savvy, can go over your head. It also tells the political pressures, information available at the time of decision making and how multiple researches feeding into each other had to be managed.

2 billion was spent on the project and in one of the chapters, General Groves humorously declares, if we don't make a weapon or if Germany beats us to it, we will spend rest of the years in Congressional hearing. Stakes were high. The personalities of the two individuals is complimentary and you see a great working partnership in action. This is something B-schools don't teach you - the chemistry between colleagues that can get sh*t done!

All the other famous physicists we know like Feynman, Einstein and Fermi pale away into the background. One thing I was hoping for was to get to know their roles. The entire community built in Las Alamos, New Mexico for the Manhattan project gains significance in light of the aftermath. Towards the end of the book, the author observes that if not for the partnership, the project might have been delayed by more than a year (and maybe the weapon would have never been used). All what-ifs are intellectual.

The last few chapters on target selection, actual bombing and the reactions was well researched and telling. Oppenheimer predicted the state of today's world. This book, I hope to carry as a pre-read to Christopher Nolan's movie to see what he has done with it.

PS: The irony that, in times when people got to see the first images after 7-8 days and called for action vs today when we get live images of genocide and we are largely exhibiting apathy is striking. God save the world.

[Morgan Blackledge · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of the Manhattan project, with the particular focus on the unlikely but epic working relationship between General Leslie Graves and Dr. Robert Oppenheimer.

Graves was a pragmatic conservative hard nosed prick engineer who bullied his people, thousands of people into achieving insanely difficult shit.

Oppenheimer was a starry eyed, lefty bohemian theoretical physicist genius who read the Bhagavad Gita, wrote poetry and hung out with a whole lot of communists. But somehow managed to inspire a bunch of ideologue prima donna intellectuals into building a working atomic bomb.

I’m making it sound like a buddy flick, but it’s not. It’s more like a team of rivals, who groped in the darkness and toiled in anxious privation, and under extreme pressure, for years to do something that nobody felt good about. But had to be done. At least it seemed like it needed to be done at the time.

And they got it done.

I’m incapable of giving this great book the review it deserves. But it’s really good. And really tragic. And absolutely horrific. And actually quite profound in the end.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. And this was the ultimate desperate time and measure.

It’s hard to imagine any two other people doing what they did.

Riveting.

[Deidre LaTorre · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Susan Carpenter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put this book down. Robert J. Oppenheimer and General Groves certainly made an unlikely team as they brought the Manhattan project to fruition. I'm still in awe of the science behind the atomic bomb and how well its secret was kept throughout its development. It certainly altered the history of the world. This was one of the most fascinating nonfiction books I have read. In fact, I sometimes forget that it was nonfiction. Most interesting was reading about how the physicists felt about what they created. Thoroughly enjoyable slice of history.

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book concept had it ALL: the THREAT OF WORLD DESTRUCTION by the Nazis; scientists hurrying at the CUTTING EDGE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY; an ODD LONER put in charge of THE MOST CRITICAL GOVERNMENT PROGRAM in the history of the world, paired with a suffer-no-fools, just-get-it-done, Army engineer. Throw in various personality clashes, a Dr. Strangelove character, suspicions of Commie infiltration and security leaks, and you have the potential for ONE OF THE MOST DRAMATIC TALES in a long while.

Yes, it could have been dramatic. It could have been exciting. It could have been nuanced and insightful. It could have been a lot of things. But instead, in the dry-bones voice of a government film narrator, this book goes on at length about committees formed, meetings held, trips and telephone calls made (including their length and frequency, but rarely what was said), investigations conducted, reports filed, construction ordered, people hired, memos written, people transferred, cooking and accommodation arranged, and on and on AND ON…!

Combining a dull, sixth-grade book report writing style, a desire to leave no stone unturned in describing a bureaucratic, government program, and using double spaced, liberally margined pages, this book is an object lesson in HOW TO SUCK THE DRAMA FROM HISTORY. The author even makes the science, which, besides the time pressure and the challenge of design, had the potential to be very interesting, dry and hard to understand. At times, his description of some technical detail is so vague that it is not even clear he understands it himself.

And so, gradually, page by boring page, we get some vague idea of the personalities of Oppenheimer and Groves, and the dynamic between them, but it so lacks in feeling that it is hardly worth the slog. A much better treatment of this subject is The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes.

The section on the Trinity test was a bit more interesting, but barely. A thin two stars.

Finally, it is best not to read this at the same time as a book about Hiroshima or Nagasaki, as I am doing (Nagasaki: Life After Nuclear War) because you will not get the thrill that, at least according to the blurb, the publisher was hoping for.

Instead, you get a creeping feeling of dread and, later, disappointment, that people could be so callous and reckless.

Note: I visited the A-bomb museum in Hiroshima at age 12, more than 45 years ago. The shock of that visit remains with me to this day.

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want to know more behind the movie Oppenheimer this well written history might just give you the information that you are looking for.

Carefully researched, full of eyewitness accounts and anecdotes, this book describes the tremendous effort required to build Los Alamos.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good supplement after watching the Oppenheimer movie.

[Brad Chapman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very long and detailed, but very informative and a great read to understand the war, scientists with the military and some untold stories of how we ended the war

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written, informative and engaging.
Visited Los Alamos during the course of my reading.

[Roger Smitter · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were three stories in this engaging and informative narrative, Treat them as three characters: Army General Leslie Groves, a highly praised member of the US military, a physics genius, Dr. J.Robert Oppenheimer, and , of course,there were the atomic bombs, which everyone hoped would work in combat.

Most readers will learn a little about physics (unless they are already physicists). So much of the scientists discovered in building the bomb is in the physics textbooks of today.

Of course we know who won the war. The book captures the tensions of making a bomb and dealing each other. Author James Kunetka makes it clear that the skills of working together is just as important as the knowledge of physics.

There’s plenty of detail in the book, including a running summary of the small town in New Mexico became the temporary home for scores of physics and soldiers in World War 2.

What is most interesting is how each man worked with his subordinates in making the bomb. There was skepticism that such a bomb could be made. There’s a theme that pops up in the pages:
WHY are we making such a horrible device.

The chapter about the preparations for the first bomb drop is especially good. The ending chapter poses some questions about weapons. It’s a long read and s detailed narrative. Fortunately, the author brings in the accomplishments of women in the story. It’s a long, long story, with lots of details. But it’s a good one for physicists AND the rest of us.

[Ronald Golden · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was an even more absorbing read then I expected. It illustrates how two dynamic people of different backgrounds, skill sets and personalities combined their efforts and talents to create what is arguably the greatest and controversial invention of the modern era. While so much credit needs to be given to Dr. Robert Oppenheimer for his work in the creation of the atomic bomb, as much credit needs to go to General Leslie Groves for having the ability to assemble a team of highly skilled scientists and give them the resources they needed to complete their mission. Gen. Groves demonstrated considerable organizational skill and leadership. This book could actually be used as a management guide and should be required reading for anyone in a management position of a large program or project. I found the ending to be a bit unsettling though. It is telling how great people are called upon in times of crisis to perform extraordinary feats and accomplishments and then are discarded once the crisis is past. The very skills and traits which make these people rise to the occasion are the same traits which make them outcast when the crisis is over.

[Nancy Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really well written and researched book. I found it very interesting. The reason I only gave it 3 stars was becasue much of the information was too technical for me. It was explained very well, ans the auther made if possible to follow, but I feel like a chemist or physicist would enjoy it so much more. That said, I really liked it. If you don't mind being lost a little on the technical aspects, I recommend it. It helped me to understand much more deeply the process of developing the atomic bomb and why it was necessary. This was a tremendous undertaking and is a very exciting and impressive story. I do believe the building of the bomb was necessary and completely contributed to the quick end of the war, which was estimated to kill another million soldiers if the war continued. But I do question the motivations for using the bombs. Especially the second bomb. But nonetheless, the story has many interesting points.

[Ken Burkhalter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-researched and written layman's history of the effort to build the first atomic bomb, in which two distinctly different people and personalities formed an unlikely partnership to guide the ambitious Manhattan Project to conclusion. I say "layman's" because this is not a scientific exposition, rather a general overview of the effort including the many players, discoveries, difficulties, and perhaps most importantly, the journey itself.

As a result, I have a new appreciation for the work and for the motivations and care embodied in those who walked this walk in a time of great national need. In the end, the bomb's use was one of military expediency. Many will debate its morality, but we are not of that time and trial, and I dare say many of us would not exist if it had not been used, as our fathers may not have survived the combat that would have taken its place. The bomb is today perceived as a great evil. At the time, it was a savior of many. Of course, that was then, and this is now. The difference between the two is man's ineptitude in stewarding something as profound, dangerous, and beneficial as nuclear energy. The bomb isn't the problem, we are.

Many scientists, engineers, and technicians were involved, but it is hard to imagine success without the two key players of this history: General Leslie Groves and J. Robert Oppenheimer. One was a hard taskmaster, as driven as he drove others, staunchly military in persona and a respecter of intellect, integrity, and rigor above all else. The other was a genius of the first order, ambitious in a humble way, the owner of a questionable political legacy, unprepared for his role in many ways, and committed to intellectual integrity. Somehow, they found a way and formed a bond that led the project to success and lasted long beyond their assignment.

This is an interesting read for students of the time. Further, it pulls back the curtain on the beginning of the atomic age, one that we enjoy the benefits of today in ways that could not have been imagined then, and which still haunts us with thoughts of what it could do to us in the end. There were those who witnessed "the rise of two suns" one fateful day. Let us pray that we are wise and courageous enough to tease out its greatest blessings while rejecting its curses.

[Erik Josephson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved listening to this book, especially after American Prometheus. What are the logistics of los alamos and the Manhattan project? This was all about the human and governmental dynamics. Most people don’t realize the complexities involved in the Manhattan project. It was complicated from a scientific perspective, thus the need for Oppenheimer and hundreds of scientists and engineers to figure out the physics and the engineering across many fields. It was complicated logistically, too. In order to carry out the tests, they need specialized materials that are being made all over the us and shipped to Los Alamos. And it’s further complicated by difficulties in manufacturing and also the need for secrecy. This is a time when the world is at war and there could be spies anywhere.

So you have Oppenheimer on the one side and Groves on the other, both of them working together yet also making serious demands of each other. I read this book and I was amazed that such a relationship ever had a chance to begin with.

I loved the book for fleshing out the story of the pains the US went to to produce the Atomic bomb. I also loved that the book went through the moral arguments that people went through at the time they decided to drop the two bombs on Japan. The book looks at the other arguments at the time and why the decision was made in the end. Again, this book stayed engaging to me because the story was always told through the eyes of the people who made the decisions. I didn’t get a sense of the author injecting his own opinion about what he thought should have happened.

[Chad Manske · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this fantastically detailed (from a scientific nuclear standpoint) book about the making of the atom bomb, two unlikely men, nearly opposites in every imaginable way, would lead an effort that would change the course of history forever. Hailed as the most technologically sophisticated undertaking of the 20th Century (to include putting a man on the moon IMHO), General Leslie Groves (the man who also led the building of the Pentagon in record time), and J. Robert Oppenheimer, an up-and-coming theoretical physicist, would spearhead the Manhattan Project in the mountains of Los Alamos, NM. Groves, an overweight Army engineer with a larger than life personality, and Oppenheimer, a slender, chain-smoking, martini quaffing scientist would assemble and direct the team of scientists to build the bombs to end WWII. Trial, error and logistics (for facilities, families, supplies,etc.) were among the numerous challenges these two men had to overcome in their 3-year partnership. Notwithstanding the secrecy protocols, arrangements with local and state authorities and other details, the author brilliantly details what it took to achieve this enormous task that would set the stage for the coming Cold War and beyond.

[AttackGirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written to convince you of the minute details and relationships between the men who moved us into a global fear threat. Playing with things they didn’t know but joked that would possibly could cook the oceans.

Just like the Particle accelerators look for the GOD Particle, the creation of all things but with no knowledge of the outcomes and recently I heard rumors about someone wanting to block out the sun. Please someone tell me who is allowing such things for the possible destruction of all existence. No knowledge of outcomes. Boys playing with magnifying glass. Who gave them permission? Permission to risk everything. I think we all vote NO. Stop all the secrets, stop all the stupid games.

So the book will impress you no doubt but also perhaps like myself took several days to finish because my spirit at the recognition of this level of ———- had no consideration about the average person just sitting in their hut being vaporized. Imagine Right now all the people of New York just gone in a big cloud. Who knows how many just because they can.


I just cried and cried.

[Lynnette Goebel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I certainly learned more about the Manhattan Project through this book. More than I could understand. However, much of the technical information was summarized in more understandable explanations for the non-science person that I am.

The book was well written and I appreciated the even handed description of the different people. No one was all great or all evil.

I'm not a movie-goer, so I will not be seeing the Oppenheimer movie that's been released. I do prefer to read a book which sticks to facts and doesn't add in ideas, situations, or dialogue that is for entertainment purposes only. I don't believe we should believe everything we see in historical movies.
I would rate it higher if I appreciated science as much as I appreciate history. It did make me pull out 2 other books I've read. Enola Gay by Gordon Thomas and Max Morgan Witts and Truman by David McCullough. It was nice to see that they agreed on many things.

[Odile · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tedius, tedius, tedius. Too many details, too many names. The book could be a lot shorter and truly focus on the partnership between Groves and Oppenheimer.

The book does a good job on creating the energy, single focus and sense of urgency of Los Alamos to create the most powerful weapon to end the horrible WWII. It highlights the respective roles of Groves vs. Oppenheimer although Oppie's leadership skills and technical genius could have described in more relevant ways instead of focusing on the minutiae of the activities and building the bomb itself.

It did a great job at describing the challenge of recruiting although there is little on why people actually decided to come work at Los Alamos: what did they really know and what was their motivation?

It helped to have seen the film because I remembered the time preparation of Trinity test in particular. I don't recommend it unless people are studying specifically this era and specific development.

[Bob Dobbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Turns out you can build a world-ending weapon if you pair a humorless Army engineer who thinks in concrete and deadlines with a chain-smoking physicist who reads the Bhagavad Gita for fun. Who knew?

Kunetka nails the odd-couple dynamic: Groves wanted everything done yesterday and under budget; Oppenheimer wanted to contemplate the ethical implications while also maybe attending a communist meeting. Somehow they didn't murder each other and instead just murdered hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians. (Too dark? This is a book about the atomic bomb.)

The Manhattan Project stuff is genuinely fascinating: all the secrecy, the egos, the race against Nazi Germany. And you get a real sense of how Oppenheimer's later persecution was baked in from the start, with Groves simultaneously relying on him and distrusting him. Good airport read if you like history and dysfunction. Just maybe don't read it on a plane to Hiroshima.

[KC · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating story of progresss and human hubris. There is a lot of technical information, a good deal of which went over my head. For example, the process of nuclear fission was explained in some detail, but I still can't explain it.

I enjoyed reading about Groves and Oppenheimer. There are many small details of how the pair worked together to achieve an incredible feat. I came away with the firm understanding that the creation of atomic weapons was not an inevitability. It wasn't something that humans were destined to stumble upon. It took millions of man hours and incredible effort to prove the hypothesis. The effort to create the first atomic weapons was sustained by a major power at war. Without the urgency of World War 2 I find it unlikely that the creation of these weapons would have happened so rapidly and with very little awareness from the general public.

[Kipi (the academic stitcher) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

I'm late to the party, but I want to see Oppenheimer, but I want to know something about him and more about the Manhatten Project before I see it. Voilà, this book shows up in my recommended list on Audible. The book isn't a biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer or General Leslie Groves, and it isn't about the Manhattan Project itself. The book is about the partnership of the two men who made the atomic bomb happen. I found it a very interesting read, and while there was some of the science that I didn't follow completely, the author does a good job of keeping it on a level that I think most readers can understand. Now I can see the movie and know if they tell the story as it really happened.

Malcolm Hillgartner narrates the audiobook, and his performance is good.

[Bruce Cline · Rating 5 out of 5]

The General and the Genius: Groves and Oppenheimer--The Unlikely Partnership That Built the Atom Bomb, by James Kunetka (2015, 14 hours audiobook). This is a deep dive into the genesis of the Manhattan Project, the work of multiple laboratories supporting the development of atomic weapons with a focus on Los Alamos Labs, the deployment of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the postwar nuclear weapons development and international controls, all seen through the lens of the relationship between and personalities of project head General Leslie Groves and laboratory head Robert Oppenheimer. Well written and a nice complement to the more general The Great Lecture Series audiobook, the similarly titled The General and the Geniuses.

[CHud · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of the people that created the atomic bomb and the era in which it was used. While the atom bomb is the single deadliest weapon created thus far, the discoveries that came with have opened an entire new facet of scientific study. The creation and use of the atom bomb is credited for the end of WWII. Let us hope it will never be used again.

I listened to the audiobook version of this novel. The narrator delivered the story liked he was narrating a documentary, which I guess is what it was. It was hard to digest, however, I would not have made it through the book if I had tried to read it myself. The only way I got anything out of it was by listening to the narrated version.

[Desirae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book that centered on the two main personalities of the Manhattan project. Not as detailed and technical as that of the Rhoades books but still worth a read. I did come away with some insight though on why Groves tolerated the spy links that he had some heads up on that were occurring and that of Oppenheimer's leftist leanings. That being that Groves viewed the project to build the bomb as an engineering exercise that had to be accomplished. The left leaning sympathies were ignored or discounted in the push to get the project completed. Kunetka does a good job in relating how Groves managed the emotional roller coaster of Oppenheimer and the vast management requirements to complete the project. Worth a read for those interested in the history of the bomb.

[Barry O'Dell · Rating 5 out of 5]

We all know about the end of this story . What this book does is bring you in to the very beginning .
What is fascinating is a letter is given to the president ( Franklin Delano Roosevelt ) about the possibility of creating a bomb more powerful than anything conceived . But it exists only as a formula written on some pieces of paper . Two years later after spending two billion ( 1940) dollars we get the test at Las Alamos , New Mexico .
This story dwells little on the end result but on the work done to create the bomb . We may not like how it was used but this is a almost unbelievable account of the work done by thousands of people in conditions that would not be tolerated today .
Not fast paced but filled with detail about the problems faced by Groves and Oppenheimer in building Las Alamos from nothing to the most advanced scientific facility on the planet . From not paving roads in the place ( to escape notice ) to attempting to build a container to hold the test bomb in case it did not fully explode , in an effort to recover plutonium that was very rare .