Something Incredibly Wonderful Happens
Frank Oppenheimer and the world he made up
By K. C. Cole
(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Hardcover, 9780151008223, 416pp.)
Publication Date: August 2009
Other Editions of This Title: Paperback
Categories: Scientists - General
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As a young man Frank Oppenheimer followed in his famous brother’s footsteps—growing up in a privileged Manhattan household, becoming a physicist, working on the atomic bomb. Tragically, Frank and Robert both had their careers destroyed by the Red Scare. But their paths diverged. While Robert died an almost ruined man, Frank came into his own, emerging from ten years of exile on a Colorado ranch to create not just a multimillion dollar institution but also a revolution that was felt all over the world. His Exploratorium was a "museum of human awareness" that combined art and science while it encouraged play, experimentation, and a sense of joy and wonder; its success inspired a transformation in museums around the globe. In many ways it was Frank’s answer to the atom bomb. K. C. Cole—a friend and colleague of Frank’s for many years—has drawn from letters, documents, and extensive interviews to write a very personal story of the man whose irrepressible spirit would inspire so many.
K.C. Cole is a science writer and a professor at the USC Annenberg School of Journalism. She is the author of seven nonfiction books, most recently Mind Over Matter: Conversations with the Cosmos. She lives in Santa Monica, California.
Author K.C. Cole writes about physicist and Exploratorium-founder Frank Oppenheimer in Something Incredibly Wonderful Happens. Cole, a friend of Oppenheimer's, digs into FBI files and personal memories to describe the complex man also called the "Uncle of the Atomic Bomb." Originally broadcast Aug. 7, 2009. More at NPR.org
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Physicist and Exploratorium founder Frank Oppenheimer is profiled in Something Incredibly Wonderful Happens. Author K.C. Cole, a friend of Oppenheimer's, digs into FBI files and personal memories to describe the complex man also called the "Uncle of the Atomic Bomb." More at NPR.org
NPR Audio Player Requires Flash Upgrade: Please upgrade your plug-in to view this content.
Praise for MIND OVER MATTER:
"Ruminations on every scientific subject under the sun, and plenty beyond it ... In pithy, three-page bursts, [Cole] tackles particle physics, geometry, Alfred Nobel, and about a thousand other topics, all with graceful, accessible prose." --The Boston Globe (Sunday)
"An absolute delight ... Belongs on the bedside bookshelf of every science enthusiast and should also be a treat for any reader curious about the universe." --San Jose Mercury-News
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