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5 Things to Read After Watching ‘Oppenheimer’

A Manhattan Project explainer, the true story of J. Robert Oppenheimer’s life, and more.

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Corrie Evanoff

Read when you’ve got time to spare.

Caught up on the hit movie? Keep reading for closer look at the life and impact of the father of the atomic bomb.

Image by Central Press / Stringer / Getty Images

The True Story of J. Robert Oppenheimer’s Life

What to know about how the true story of Oppenheimer’s life compares to writer-director Christopher Nolan’s new movie.

What Was the Manhattan Project?

The top-secret Manhattan Project resulted in the atomic bombs dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

BONUS READ: Inside the Secret Cities That Created the Atomic Bomb via CityLab.

The Young Women Who Were Tricked Into Creating the Atomic Bomb

In addition to the story of Oppenheimer, a number of women, some recruited out of high school, worked at top-secret sites in the Manhattan Project.

‘Now I Am Become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds.’ The Story of Oppenheimer’s Infamous Quote

The Robert Oppenheimer quote, from the Hindu sacred text the Bhagavad Gita, has come to define the father of the atomic bomb, but its meaning is more complex than many realize.

The Indelible Enola Gay

The aircraft that dropped the first atomic bomb will always inspire debate.

BONUS READ: The Open Mind

J. Robert Oppenheimer’s advice on the atomic bomb, from The Atlantic’s February 1949 issue.