Summertime Break

A short summary of my background series for the Oppenheimer film and a notice of a vacation break on Cape Cod.

I want to thank all of you who have read my five-part series on the early history of the nuclear age. I especially want to welcome all the new free subscribers to this newsletter who have joined in recent weeks. Thank you very much for your comments. It is great to hear from you and I hope that you enjoyed the background the articles provided for Christopher Nolan’s epic film, Oppenheimer.

I am planning to see the film this weekend. We are on vacation for a few weeks in Cape Cod and it looks like a cloudy day on Saturday, perfect for catching a matinee. With apologies to those stuck in the city during this climate-change-induced heat wave, here is what life on one of Cape Cod’s famous kettle ponds looks like this week.

Photo courtesy of Betsy Cohn

When not floating, I was reading. I wanted to wait to see the movie until I finished the magnificent, Pulitzer-Prize-winning book that was the inspiration for the film, American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. It is rich, rewarding and essential reading for any concerned about nuclear issues. It also provides a riveting early example of the weaponization of government against dissidents that is now the MAGA model for how it would impose its rule on all Americans.

Having finished the book and written my series, I am ready for the film. Here is a short summary of my five articles provided kindly this week by subscriber and photographer William Weibel on the application formerly known as Twitter. He said it better than I could :

Thank you, William! I will be writing less over the next two weeks. I hope that wherever you are, you manage to stay cool, stay safe, and enjoy the two wonderful films that Hollywood has provided us this month.