Articles by Kai Bird
Canaglia americana
Tra gli anni Cinquanta e Ottanta, il nome di Roy Cohn è una presenza costante nella cronaca politica americana.
We Are Living Under Roy Cohnian Logic
Culture 5 hours ago Devils in America nybooks.com - Fintan O’Toole • 5h The lessons that Donald Trump learned from Roy Cohn—lie, cheat, engage in unlimited corruption—now shape official government policy in the US. Toward … Sports 7 hours ago Amid a Reds slide, Terry Francona finds relief as front office expected to return Associated Press - By JOE REEDY • 7h CINCINNATI (AP) — Not much has gone right for Terry Francona and the Cincinnati Reds the past couple weeks.
đ¤ The Friendship That Created Donald Trump
The most influential person in Donald Trumpâs life isnât his mother or father or a beloved teacher or coach. Itâs Roy Cohn â the lawyer/fixer who Trump met when he was in his late 20s and who molded him into the man that successfully sought the presidency not once but twice. âRoy was probably his closest friend and a major influence,â Kai Bird, the author of a new book on Cohn called âAmerican Scoundrel,â told me in a Substack Live on Monday afternoon.
We Are Living Under Roy Cohnian Logic
Comment / September 15, 2026 We Are Living Under Roy Cohnian Logic The political fixer created a career for himself as a self-promoting, ubiquitous hustler. Like Trump, he got away with it by having the right friends.
We Are Living Under Roy Cohnian Logic
Comment / September 8, 2026 We Are Living Under Roy Cohnian Logic The political fixer created a career for himself as a self-promoting, ubiquitous hustler. Like Trump, he got away with it by having the right friends.
America's Book Club Promo 2
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Kai Bird's 'American Scoundrel' Exposes Political Corruption
The New York Timesupdated 13m agofirst covered Sep 1, 9:15 AM ET Read the original ↗ Kai Bird's new biography examines the life and legacy of a controversial American political figure, diving deep into scandals and misconduct that shaped his career. The book presents a detailed account of how unchecked power and institutional failures allowed corruption to flourish at the highest levels of government. AI-generated briefing — triage, not the story; every claim links out to the coverage below.
Summary and Reviews of American Scoundrel by Kai Bird
About This Book Summary Book Summary From the Pulitzer Prize–winning coauthor of American Prometheus, inspiration for the box-office sensation , a penetrating biography of super-lawyer and political fixer Roy Cohn, whose shocking exploits over four decades have shaped the modern political era, most prominently the ascent of Donald Trump. From the 1950s to the 1980s, the many dramas of American political life had one common denominator: Roy Cohn.
The Mentor
The Mentor Published August 9, 2026 Trump and Cohn had met forty-four years earlier, in 1973. The New York Post gossip columnist Cindy Adams later reported that her old friend Cohn had introduced her to his new protégé at a dinner party soon after. Trump was not yet thirty, and an ambitious outer-borough real-estate developer.
The Mentor
When President Donald Trump’s first Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, recused himself from a federal investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, in 2017, the President was angry. “Where’s my Roy Cohn?” he yelled. But Roy Cohn—an American scoundrel and the lawyer who helped send Julius and Ethel Rosenberg to the electric chair, aided Senator Joseph McCarthy in implementing the Red Scare, and showed Trump the ropes in the real-estate business—was long gone.
How Roy Cohn Taught Donald Trump Everything
When President Donald Trump’s first Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, recused himself from a federal investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, in 2017, the President was angry. “Where’s my Roy Cohn?” he yelled. But Roy Cohn—an American scoundrel and the lawyer who helped send Julius and Ethel Rosenberg to the electric chair, aided Senator Joseph McCarthy in implementing the Red Scare, and showed Trump the ropes in the real-estate business—was long gone.
Bad Boy for Life: The Rise and Fall of Sean Combs
Cheyenne Roundtree. Holt, $32.99 (400p) ISBN 978-1-250-41116-7 Rolling Stone reporter Roundtree’s explosive debut interrogates the shifting personas and crimes of hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs.
AMERICAN SCOUNDREL
An essential account of a chaotic administration that, Woodward makes painfully clear, is incapable of governing. That thing in the air that is deadlier than even your “strenuous flus”? Trump knew—and did nothing about it. The big news from veteran reporter Woodward’s follow-up to Fear has been widely reported: Trump was fully aware at the beginning of 2020 that a pandemic loomed and chose to downplay it, causing an untold number of deaths and crippling the economy.
A Nation Wrestles with God: American Prophets, Philosophers, and Firebrands
“Wrestling... with the divine...
Stephen W. Sears
About American Heritage For 75 years, American Heritage has been the leading magazine of U.S. history, politics, and culture. Read more about the magazine >> The magazine was forced to suspend print publication in 2013, but a group of volunteers saved the archives and relaunched the magazine in digital form in 2017. Free subscription >> Please consider a donation to the National Historical Society, non-partisan 501(c)3 membership society, to help us keep this American treasure alive.
The Women Are Not Fine by Hope Reese
The Women Are Not Fine Synopsis The true story of the women behind the greatest female-led mass poisoning in modern history The women of Nagyrév are desperate. Their husbands are abusive. They are feeding their newborns to livestock. At the turn of the 20th century, in the village of Nagyrév, Hungary, midwife Zsuzsanna Fazekas was more than a caretaker - she was a confidante. She helped poor women give birth; she assisted them with abortions; and she listened.
OPPENHEIMER AND THE ATOMIC BOMB
A searching, scorching study of a complex character, trimmed but still weighed down by too much minor detail. A meticulous account of the rise and fall of a brilliant scientist. Though significantly shorter than the prize-winning American Prometheus (2005), the inspiration for the 2023 film, this bulky adaptation for young people still bulges with finely chopped details.
Book reviews on the fly
American Prometheus - The triumph and tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin "In the first decade of the twentieth century, science initiated a second American revolution. A nation on horseback was soon transformed by the internal combustion engine, manned flight, and a multitude of other inventions. These technological innovations quickly changed the lives of ordinary men and women.
Carter's Energy Crisis
Editor's Note: Daniel Yergin, vice chairman of S&P Global, won a Pulitzer Prize in 1992 for The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power, described by Business Week as hailed as “the best history of oil ever written.” More recently, he published The New Map: Energy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations. The presidency of Jimmy Carter was both shaped and bracketed by energy. Even before he took office, Carter made clear that he intended “energy” to be a linchpin of his administration.
Jimmy Carter’s Biographer on the Late President’s Biggest Regret
Share Carter summoned Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat to Camp David to make peace, not apartheid, in the Middle East. But the Israeli president broke his promise to freeze settlements. Last summer, ex-president Jimmy Carter was having a gentle, halting conversation with one of his great-grandchildren. Approaching his hundredth birthday, he’d been in home hospice care for nearly 15 months. He remarked that he’d had a pretty wonderful life.
Jimmy Carter’s Biographer on the Late President’s Biggest Regret
World / Carter summoned Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat to Camp David to make peace, not apartheid, in the Middle East. But the Israeli president broke his promise to freeze settlements. Ad Policy Last summer, ex-president Jimmy Carter was having a gentle, halting conversation with one of his great-grandchildren. Approaching his hundredth birthday, he’d been in home hospice care for nearly 15 months. He remarked that he’d had a pretty wonderful life.
The bold environmental vision of President Jimmy Carter
Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters. This story was originally published by Yale E360 and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. The angry Alaskans gathered in Fairbanks to burn the president’s effigy. It was early December 1978 and President Jimmy Carter was that unpopular in Alaska.
Must-read books about Lab history
October is National Book Month, and members of the National Security Research Center (the Lab's classified library) know a thing or two about books. NSRC Director Riz Ali and Senior Historian Alan Carr share their top picks on Los Alamos and atomic bomb history.
Books about J Robert Oppenheimer (to Read After the Movie)
People who are connoisseurs are normally quite snooty when their subject gets turned into a movie, but you thought the Oppenheimer movie was great and its Best Picture Oscar “richly deserved.” Tell me more.
Will Roy Cohn Save Donald Trump's Hide One Last Time? Original
Sitting still for hours on end in a chilly, drab courtroom, unable to speak his mind, forced to listen to people say objectionable things about him, Donald Trump at a defense table in Manhattan's Criminal Court may seem as far from his usual domain - the cheering crowds and the trappings of wealth - as could be imagined. But it was in another courthouse just down the street that Mr. Trump's wily mentor, Roy Cohn, pulled off one of his greatest legal feats.
Best biographies of all time to add to your 2024 reading list
Biographies are a surprisingly controversial endeavour due to their posthumous nature. While the family’s estate controls the intellectual property of their loved ones after their passing, it’s not exactly possible to get express permission from the likes of George Washington or The Brontë Sisters before conducting a deep dive into their personal lives.
A Million Dollar Middle East Peace Plan Original
Ideas April 11, 2024 4:43 PM EDT Bird is a Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer of J. Robert Oppenheimer. His 2010 memoir, Crossing Mandelbaum Gate: Coming of Age Between the Arabs and Israelis, has just been re-issued by Scribner. One night at the dinner table in the American Colony—the lovely boutique watering hole in East Jerusalem—I overheard an elderly American heiress proclaiming that she would give a million dollars to anyone who could solve the Arab-Israeli conflict.
オッペンハイマー、68年後の名誉回復──その知られざる舞台裏
「原爆設計者の名誉回復」──こんな見出しが、2022年12月18日付けの『ニューヨーク・タイムズ』紙を飾った。この日、同紙の16面に掲載された長文記事に綴られていたのは、合衆国エネルギー省長官のジェニファー・グランホルムが「J・ロバート・オッペンハイマーに対して1954年に決定された機密情報アクセス権の剥奪を無効化した」という事実だった。 オッペンハイマーは第二次世界大戦で原爆製造の指揮をとり、一時は米国で最も政府に重用される科学者だったが、マッカーシズム（赤狩り）最盛期にソ連のスパイであるとの疑いをかけられた。グランホルムは報道機関に向け、エネルギー省は「歴史上の誤った記録を正し、オッペンハイマー博士が『わが国の防衛と科学の進歩全般に与えた壮大な貢献』を讃える責務を負う」という声明を公表した。このスパイ容疑取り消しの告知を発表できることを喜ばしく思う、と長官は述べている。...
Best moments at the OSCARS
Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” swept the 96th Oscars, clinching victories in the coveted categories of Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Director. This triumph may not have come as a complete surprise to viewers, considering the film’s earlier triumphs at prestigious events like the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the Golden Globes (where it won Best Drama), and the British Academy Film Awards.
Oppenheimer
De Pulitzer Prize-winnende biografie van J. Robert Oppenheimer, directeur van het Manhattan Project en ‘vader van de atoombom’, die de inspiratie was voor de succesvolle film Oppenheimer –een geweldige, spannende combinatie van wetenschap, wereldgeschiedenis en politiek J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967) was een briljant natuurkundige en directeur van het Manhattan Project: de geheime ontwikkeling van de atoombom tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog.
Let Us Help You Find Your Next Book
Let Us Help You Find Your Next Book By The New York Times Books Staff Updated Feb. 22, 2024 Let us help you choose your next book I want a great historical novel full of humanity How about a heartwarming novel to suit any mood? I’d love a literary novel that surprises me at every turn I want to read a book everyone is (still) talking about Give me a swashbuckling tale of survival How about a revelatory biography of an American icon?
myReviewer.com - About the Blu-ray - Oppenheimer
9 / 10 1 vote cast Rate this item Certificate: 15 Running Time: 180 mins Retail Price: £24.99 Release Date: Content Type: Movie Synopsis: Experience the breathtaking global phenomenon that has captivated audiences around the world.Written for the screen and directed by Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer thrusts audiences into the mind of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy), whose landmark work on the Manhattan Project created the first atomic bomb.
Guest Essay: J. Robert Oppenheimer Biographer on the Nearly Impossible Adaptation
Back in September 2021, a friend sent me a paragraph-long notice in a magazine, reporting that Hollywood director Christopher Nolan was working on a film about J. Robert Oppenheimer. This was disturbing news to me, a co-author of American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, a 720-page biography of Oppenheimer that was published in 2005 and won a Pulitzer Prize in 2006. My co-author, Martin J. Sherwin, and I had never heard from Nolan.
Guest Essay: J. Robert Oppenheimer Biographer on the Nearly Impossible Adaptation
Back in September 2021, a friend sent me a paragraph-long notice in a magazine, reporting that Hollywood director Christopher Nolan was working on a film about J. Robert Oppenheimer. This was disturbing news to me, a co-author of American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, a 720-page biography of Oppenheimer that was published in 2005 and won a Pulitzer Prize in 2006. My co-author, Martin J. Sherwin, and I had never heard from Nolan.
A Conversation Guide to Oscars' Best Picture Contenders " The Watercooler
Why care about the Oscars this year? After the year of the Barbieheimer blitz that sparked a global return to theaters, perhaps the bigger surprise is that the two box office bonanzas earned Best Picture nominations — and one of them is favored to win. It’s been 26 years since a blockbuster won the big prize (Titanic). It matters as we’re all increasingly fragmented into tiny asynchronous viewing bubbles, and our shared experiences and conversations have become fewer and farther between.
A Conversation Guide to Oscars’ Best Picture Contenders
It’s been nearly 30 years since a blockbuster won the big prize at the Academy Awards. The year Titanic won, in 1998, 57 million people tuned in for the awards show. Compare that to the 10.4 million who watched the 2021 ceremony, the year after Covid sunk the theatrical movie business, and you can see why there’s so much build up around this year’s big night. The Barbieheimer blitz not only brought people back to theaters around the globe, it delivered two Best Picture nominations.
Oscars 2024 Nominations Forecast: The Movies, Actors, Directors Who Will Get Academy's Nod
Shares (SPOT.ph) Oscar nominations are set to be announced this Tuesday night and I’m sure of one thing: If 2023 was all about Barbenheimer, the same will likely hold true for the Oscars. But where audience sentiment crowned Barbie the winner by giving Greta Gerwig’s comedy the title of highest-grossing movie of the year, the Academy will probably award Oppenheimer in its top-line categories and banish the “lightweight” plastic doll to the technical categories.
What I've Been Reading
This article is a new installment in a series of “mini reviews” of my reading.
Oppenheimer (4K UHD Review)
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes With the three-hour epic Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan tackles the big story of American physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) who was largely involved in the development of the atom bomb at Los Alamos during World War II. Recruited by General Leslie Groves (Matt Damon) to head the team of scientist to work on a superweapon based on the new area of science, nuclear physics, hoping to outpace Nazi Germany.
Oppenheimer - Película - 2023 - Crítica
Portada PelículasLas mejores películas de científicos e inventores reales Oppenheimer Duración: 03h 00 min Género: Histórico | Biográfico | Drama Público apropiado: Jóvenes Valoraciones: decine21 (9) | usuarios (8.1) 8.1 Votos usuarios ( 96 votos ) Comentarios Título original: Oppenheimer Año: 2023 Fecha de estreno en España en cines : 20-07-2023 País: EE.UU.
'Oppenheimer' hits UHD Blu-ray and VOD on November 21 and 22
Christopher Nolan's latest blockbuster will be available simultaneously on UHD Blu-ray and VOD on November 21 in North America and November 22 in Europe. The news was confirmed by Universal. - "Oppenheimer is yours to own on 4K, Blu-ray, and Digital November 21.
'Oppenheimer' lander på streaming og skive den 22. november
Christopher Nolans nyeste blockbuster lander samtidig på UHD Blu-ray, Blu-ray og online i VOD-filmbutikker den 22. november i Danmark. Nyheden bekræftes af Universal. I USA frigives filmen den 21. november og i Europa og Danmark den 22. november. - "Oppenheimer is yours to own on 4K, Blu-ray, and Digital November 22.
Oppenheimer: Americký Prométheus - Kai Bird
O knize Oppenheimer: Americký Prométheus Mimořádná kniha o vzestupu a pádu „otce atomové bomby“. Geniální fyzik J. Robert Oppenheimer, jedna z ikonických postav 20. století, stál v době druhé světové války v čele úsilí o sestrojení atomové bomby pro svou vlast – takzvaného projektu Manhattan. Později čelil morálním důsledkům vědeckého pokroku, k němuž zásadním způsobem sám přispěl.
Octogenarian Oligarchy
There is an epidemic of politicians short-circuiting. Either that or having 80-somethings running the most powerful country in all of human history is starting to show its limitations. Over the weekend, a video emerged of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell freezing when asked if he would seek reelection. After an excruciating pause, an aide appears to help shuffle him away.
Books Made Into Movies in 2023
Maigret and the Dead Girl Now out in a movie with Gerard Depardieu as the French police inspector, Maigret and the Dead Girl is a good place to start with this classic European detective series by the Belgian writer Georges Simenon (1903-1989). Simenon wrote around 75 Maigret novels, so the quality tends to vary.
La tragedia de J. Robert Oppenheimer
Un día de la primavera de 1954, J. Robert Oppenheimer se encontró con Albert Einstein a la salida de sus oficinas en el Instituto de Estudios Avanzados de Princeton, Nueva Jersey, Oppenheimer era director del instituto desde 1947 y Einstein miembro de la facultad desde que huyó de Alemania en 1933. Los dos hombres podían discutir sobre física cuántica —Einstein refunfuñaba que no creía que Dios jugara a los dados con el universo—, pero eran buenos amigos.
The Jewishness of Oppenheimer
Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan’s acclaimed new biopic about the physicist who oversaw the invention of the atomic bomb, is the rare mass-market feature film that depicts the complexities of the US left during and after World War II. As the movie shows, J. Robert Oppenheimer was closely affiliated with Communists in his early life; his forays into left-wing politics included sending funds to the Spanish Republicans through the Communist Party.
#55 The Cultural Significance of "Barbenheimer" - A Conversation Between Jake, Maren, & James
Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade. Appears in this episode Jake Marquez and Maren Morgan “Death in The Garden” is a multimedia project that explores the complex intersection of the cycle of life and death, holism, climate change, civilization, ecology, and health from the perspective of two incredibly curious millennials on a journey to make sense of a very nuanced world.
If You Liked Oppenheimer, Here Are 6 Gripping Non-Fiction Audible Titles You Should Listen To
Here Are 6 Gripping Non-Fiction Audible Titles You Should Listen To. A good nonfiction book pulls you closer to reality as it reveals real-time accounts of people and events throughout time. Non-fiction encourages you to reconsider your beliefs, rethink your perspective, and impart essential worldly knowledge.
Six captivating non-fiction Audible titles for Oppenheimer fans
Mumbai: A good nonfiction book pulls you closer to reality as it reveals real-time accounts of people and events throughout time. Non-fiction encourages you to reconsider your beliefs, rethink your perspective, and impart essential worldly knowledge. Here we present to you some best-in-class non-fiction audiobooks and podcasts set in India’s regal history, World War 2, the nuclear age, war veterans, espionage missions, and true accounts of CIA spies.
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