The Oppenheimer Alternative

"Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds," physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer famously exclaimed when the first atomic bomb exploded in 1945. His Manhattan Project gathered the greatest scientists ever assembled, including Albert Einstein, Richard Feynman, Edward Teller, Leo Szilard, and Enrico Fermi.In this meticulously researched, fast-paced thriller, Sawyer keeps those geniuses together after the war in hopes of redeeming themselves and saving our planet from an environmental catastrophe. If they succeed, they will be able to declare, "Now we are become life, the saviors of the world." The Oppenheimer Alternativewill delight Sawyer's traditional science-fiction fans as well as history buffs, those who enjoy scientific biographies, and mainstream readers. Robert J. Sawyer, a Member of the Order of Canada and a Globe and Mail and Maclean's bestseller, is the author of twenty-three previous novels, including FlashForward, the basis for the ABC TV series. His novel Quantum Nightwas long-listed for CBC's Canada Reads. "Incredibly realistic: the characters, locations, the era, and even the science. I felt like I was back in Los Alamos--and I should know: I worked there!"--Dr. Doug Beason, former Associate Laboratory Director, Los Alamos National Laboratory "Alternate history usually turns on the decisions of politicians and generals. Robert J. Sawyer has done a truly science fictional work of alternate history which turns on the decisions--and discoveries--of the great physicists who wrote the history of the 20th century: Einstein, Fermi, Gödel, and Oppenheimer, the organizer of the Manhattan Project.They are the vividly realized, all-too-human characters who people this novel, and give its brilliant speculations human life and blood. I read this book at a gulp, and you should too--now I'm going to go read it again. Bravo!"--S.M. Stirling, New York Times bestselling author of Dies The Fire "By any reckoning Sawyer is among the most successful Canadian authors ever."--Maclean's