Reading

Reading 4 - Watford 0 (Championship, January 9, 2008) Chris Armstrong scored his first goal for the club to give the Royals a deserved lead at the break. Noel Hunt and Kevin Doyle then helped themselves to goals midway through the second period before Leroy Lita grabbed a late fourth as Watford capitulated thanks to some wretched defending.

***

Antalyaspor 0 - Nurnberg 2 (Anatalya Cup, January 9, 2008) Second half goals from Pagenburg and Gygax earned the Bundesliga side the win.

Heerenveen 1 - Trabzonspor 0 (Anatalya Cup, January 9, 2008) Gerald Sibon struck the winner 15 minutes from time.

***

Adelaide United 2 - Newcastle Jets 0 (A-League, January 9, 2008) Fabian Barbiero netted his first A-League goal midway through the first half before setting up Lucas Pantelis for the clincher in the 74th minute to send United back to the top of the A-League.

***

China 1 - Iran 3 (International friendly, January 9, 2008) Arash Borhani opened the scoring for Iran after 20 minutes, with Karim Bagheri doubling Iran’s advantage seven minutes later. Maziar Zareh added a third from the spot for the visitors.

The “ghost goal” at the Watford-Reading game was, for many, proof that the declining standard of British referees had hit new lows. If the officials cannot be trusted to know whether the ball crossed the line or not, then what hope can the beautiful game have.

Yet, just when it was felt that standard had nowhere more south to fall, the goalposts have been shifted even further downwards, with the story of the bungling referee at the FA Cup match between Cullompton Rangers and Willand Rovers.

According to news on the underground, non-league wire, the difference between the two situations was that while referee Stuart Attwell erred on a matter of fact (i.e. whether the ball had crossed the goalline), the events at the FA Cup Devon derby saw referee Simon Mann committed a sacrilegious error based on the laws of the game.

The facts (according to the Cullompton’s website).

“With five minutes remaining the Match Referee awarded a penalty after deciding that the ball had been handled by Rovers defender Shaun Goff. After much argument during which time three or four Rovers players picked up yellow cards, Mark Simic spotted the ball and tucked away a superb penalty. The ’scorer’ and team mates peeled off to celebrate what was surely a match winning moment only for the Referee then to loudly announce: ‘Encroachment - no goal, restart the game with a goal kick,’ and so the contest continued.”

Referee Mann has also been charged with allegedly telling the Cullompton management that the rules over penalty kicks had been changed two years ago before admitting his mistake a day later and asking the FA for help. The FA declared the match ‘null and void’, cancelled the replay at Willand and rescheduled for last night.

In typecast Sunday league responses, joint manager Lee Annunziata admitted “I still have nightmares about this one”, while club secretary Marcus Scott complained that his “first day as an OAP” was ruined.

This is a story with no happy ending. In last night’s replay, in front of 472 thankless souls, Willand beat Cullompton 1-0 in extra time.

Earlier this week, the Las Vegas Sports Consultants emerged from their smoke and grease-board filled offices, took off their green-tinted visors to wipe their collective brows with Rolex-clad wrists and unveiled their pre-season poll to the adoration of media and coaches poll haters the world round.

I tried to pack that first sentence with as many tired bookie stereotypes as possible, but I missed the most important one, the commonly held belief that bookmakers are 100 percent objective.

The reason this stereotype exists, of course, is because bookies care not who wins that Friday night San Jose State-Houston game. They only care that, when the game kicks off, they’ve got equal money (or close to it) on both the Spartans and Cougars. After that, the vig takes care of the rest.

You could say that, on a week-to-week basis, Vegas oddsmakers are beholden to perceived market value rather than true market value (so long objectivity!) but to determine the former you have to have a pretty good idea of the latter.

There is no Kelvin scale when it comes to college football power polling, but if there was you could imagine it existing deep in the catacombs of some Vegas casino, the places normally reserved for composite characters in a Ben Mezrich book, visible only to those privileged and powerful enough to not only create it but keep it a secret as well.

That’s a long way of saying that no poll is perfect but, for my money, the LVSC poll strives the hardest towards the ideal and what’s better, they like Nebraska more than any pundit not named Matt Hinton.

» Continue Reading

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Attention all conspiracy theorists: it’s time to find a new hobby because NASCAR fans/drivers and journalists are doing a better job than you are. The Watergate cover-up, the Government being involved in 9/11, and Area 51 is old news because there’s a new trend emerging: conspiracy theories that the NASCAR sanctioning body is helping their favorite driver or more specifically their favorite son, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

                The first time the word conspiracy and Earnhardt Jr. were mentioned in the same sentence was after the 2001 Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway. It was 5 months after the death of Dale Earnhardt at the same track in the February Daytona 500.

                At first everyone, Earnhardt Jr. fan or not, celebrated the overflowing emotions of a young man stepping up and honoring his father. Finally, everyone in the NASCAR community had reason to smile. Then in a post race interview, driver Jimmy Spencer suggested that it was all too good to be true by telling a reporter, “If you didn’t see this coming…”

                Time froze and everyone quieted down. The race was fixed? How was that even possible?

                But many, including other drivers and members of the media, wondered and openly questioned whether or not other competitors may have stepped aside to let Earnhardt Jr. get to the front and when that discussion was tossed aside it was mentioned that NASCAR officials didn’t closely inspect Earnhardt Jr.’s car during post race inspection when it was clearly better than the rest of the field.

                The suggestions that he had been given a win made Earnhardt Jr. so mad, he said, that he almost punched a reporter. “I couldn’t believe it. I was in Seattle and I was doing some interviews with the baseball media and this guy asked me like, ‘What do you think about people saying the race was fixed?’ I literally cocked back just to knock the hell out of this guy. I didn’t know what he was saying. It didn’t register.

                “It really bothered me pretty bad, it upset me. That the biggest race of my career, my biggest win. Aside from the wins I had when my father was there, that’s going to be the day I will always remember. For somebody to question its credibility, to question my credibility, I feel like that’s a slap in my face, a slap in my father’s face and a slap in (crew chief) Tony Eury’s face. Those guys busted their butts to build a great race car. They probably worked harder on that race car than on any other car they’ve ever worked on. I never drove harder in my life. I went out there and got the lead. I was blocking all night long and making the moves to stay up front. We won the race so convincingly that it raised questions…It was a great moment in NASCAR history and it got kicked in the (groin).”

                Since that moment, July of 2001, every move and every action made by Earnhardt Jr. and NASCAR, has been closely monitored by the fans. So, it’s not surprising that when you Google the words “Dale Jr. gets help from NASCAR,” you come up with 130,000 hits.

                Reading some of the articles and fans opinions is quite comical. The most popular belief is that NASCAR’s Most Popular driver can do whatever he wants and will never and has never been penalized for it.

                Then it must be a mirage that over the past 6 years, Dale Earnhardt Inc., because of Earnhardt Jr. has lost $168,000 and 150 points in penalties. All stemming from things like unapproved parts, the car being too low in inspection or the more memorable ones such as intentionally running into Robby Gordon during the cool down lap at Bristol in 2002 he also intentionally spun his car at Bristol in 2004. “I had a loose wheel and I didn’t have any choice but to spin the car out to get a caution. So I went down in the corner, had some clear room behind me and I just spun it out. The caution came out; I put the clutch in and got going. What the hell else was I supposed to do? Go a lap down? Go two laps down?”

                He’s also let his emotions get the best of him, for example, after winning his fifth race at Talladega, Earnhardt Jr. said, “It don’t mean shit right now. Daddy’s won here ten times.” The penalty was 25 championship points and $10,000.

                NASCAR set the standard with that penalty making it clear to drivers that profanity would not be tolerated. Except, no driver has been fined since then; crew chiefs and drivers have used the words damn, hell, pissed and f***, but no action by NASCAR.

                However, it is fair to say that NASCAR did penalize Tony Stewart after he criticized certain NASCAR actions. But Stewart never uttered a profanity.

                The worst received by Earnhardt Jr. was in 2007 when his car was deemed to have illegal wing mounts at Darlington. The result was crew chief Tony Eury Jr. $100,000 poorer, given a six week vacation and Jr. lost 100 championship points.

                And yet many are still convinced that NASCAR plays favorites. I’m really confused on how that can be when NASCAR has penalized him every time he’s broken the rules.

                So, now go on Google and type in “Dale Jr. conspiracy theories” and you’ll have 76,500 hits to sort through. Like, he can never win without help, accusing NASCAR of throwing phantom yellow flags to get Earnhardt Jr. to the front. If this were the case then wouldn’t he be winning every week? And have multiple championships? It would make perfect sense considering that NASCAR has acknowledged that when Earnhardt Jr. wins NASCAR merchandise sells. Except, that’s not happening, so it’s time to go on to the next conspiracy: NASCAR doesn’t want the son of Dale Earnhardt to win.

                It sounds absurd that it can be both ways but Jr. Nation seems to think so. Every time the checkered flag falls and Earnhardt Jr. is not the first one under it, there’s always an excuse why. You’re rarely going to hear that he just didn’t have the car to win, except from his own mouth.

                If the fans still need someone to blame, after 2007 the likely candidate is his Step-mother Teresa Earnhardt. Teresa was the one sneaking into the garages and sabotaging Earnhardt Jr.’s engines resulting in his failure to finish and win races. And don’t forget that she doesn’t attend races because she’s too busy sitting at home or on her yacht with an Earnhardt Jr. voodoo doll.

                The second popular target is crew chief Tony Eury Jr. Fans and media continually rip Eury saying he doesn’t know how to prepare race cars and they want his head.

                The similarity between NASCAR fans and that of Jr. Nation is that we all need someone to blame and that someone will never be our favorite driver. You’re not going to hear that Earnhardt Jr. doesn’t give Eury good feedback. That’s preposterous.

                The latest Earnhardt Jr. conspiracy aside from him joining the dark side in Hendrick Motorsports, is that NASCAR let Earnhardt Jr. repeatedly speed down pit road, endanger safety workers, and pit while pit road was closed and he wasn’t penalized.

                NASCAR had warned the 88 team to control his speed on pit road and they took it as a 1 lap penalty, so when NASCAR corrected them, the fans cried favoritism. Instead Earnhardt Jr. was placed at the tail end of the longest line for speeding down pit road and pitting while the pits were closed. That’s the rule in the rulebook and Earnhardt Jr. complied with the rule and spent the rest of the race working his way to a top 5 finish.

                What many broadcasters, drivers and fans are complaining about is that NASCAR took back the 1 lap penalty and that he repeatedly broke the rules. There is no penalty for repeatedly breaking the rules, at least that we know of. Even though they’ve been questioned about it in the past, NASCAR won’t make one up on the spot.

                This may not be a big deal if one of two things had occurred. First, fans are complaining that they didn’t see the tape NASCAR used to rescind Earnhardt Jr.’s penalty. All you had to do was watch the race and they showed Earnhardt Jr. making his pit stop(s) and no safety workers in sight. It may even show up on YouTube.

                The second, being that Earnhardt Jr. finished 5^th and not 21^st, obviously means to NASCAR fans that he was given that because he wasn’t penalized.

                If the fans have a problem with the rules then they need to express it to NASCAR that it’s time for tougher or different rules. Don’t crucify the guy taking advantage of the bad ones.

                Earnhardt Jr. paid his penalty then drove to the front again. However, because of his personality and his name, Earnhardt Jr. will never be able to accomplish anything because of his hard work except in the eyes of Jr. Nation. It’s not always fun to be famous when your every move and word is scrutinized by the very people who may be living their dreams through you.

                To some, on the racetrack he’s a mediocre driver living off his daddy’s name and off the track, he’s an immature party boy who only cares about his bar and his women.

                I disagree since Earnhardt Jr. is a 2-time Nationwide Series champion, a Daytona 500 champion and decided to leave his late father’s company to join Hendrick Motorsports in order to win more races and championships. Instead he could have stayed with Dale Earnhardt Inc. and run mediocre if he was so concerned about life away from the track.

                But what do I know? I’m just another person living through someone else right?

Did you hear the one about the ballplayer who got hurt while dreaming about spiders?

But wait, there's no punchline here, for this is a true story!

Reading this morning about the Detroit Tigers Brandon Inge's freak pillow injury motivated me to research the topic of slightly crazy, bizarre, freakish kinds of sports injuries. Some of these you likely have heard about before, but they're still funny enough to bring up again. Nothing gruesome—no falling off motorcycles—just the type of injury where you say to yourself, "well now I've heard it all."

So, in reverse order, I present to you:

MOST BIZARRE SPORTS INJURIES

5. The Sneeze

In 2004, Sammy Sosa sneezed violently, bringing on back spasms that placed the Cubbie slugger on the DL. Hey, it's nothing to sneeze at, really.

4. Isn't this supposed to be a protective piece of equipment?

Ken Griffey, Jr. has had a lot of injuries in his career, but none stranger than this one. Griff once missed a game after his protective cup slipped and pinched one of his testicles. Going 'balls out' will never have the same meaning again!

3. Penalty for excessive celebration

Kicker Bill Gramatica celebrated a 42 yard field goal by jumping up and when he came down, tearing his ACL, missing the rest of the season. Bet he got a kick out of that one.

2. That's using your head

In 1997, Quarterback Gus Frerotte decided to bang his head into the wall behind the end zone after a TD. He missed the rest of a key game with neck pains. Wonder if he was still wearing his helmet?

1. I don't like spiders and snakes

Glenallen Hill, who was named in conjunction with the Mitchell report as a former steroid abuser, once suffered cuts, scrapes and bruises while sleepwalking during a nightmare about spiders! No word on the condition of the spiders.

Oh, and back to the Inge story in case you hadn't heard. Apparently Brandon Inge was trying to push a pillow behind his son's head (his son sleeps with Brandon and his wife every night), resulting in an injury to his oblique muscle. Inge is 5 feet, eleven inches and close to 200 pounds, but he was apparently no match for that pillow.

While researching this topic, I ran across these additional, funny-but-true injuries:

HONORABLE MENTION

Marty Cordova of the Twins once missed part of the 2002 season when he got burned in a tanning salon.

Steve Trout once missed a start after he fell off his bicycle.

David Wells tripped over a bar stool in his kitchen, knocking a bottle of wine to the floor, where he landed on the bottle and promptly severed a tendon in his wrist, requiring surgery.

Kevin Mitchell chipped a tooth biting into a stale doughnut.

Pitcher Adam Eaton stabbed himself while opening a DVD in 2001.

Vince Coleman missed the 1985 World Series after getting caught in the tarp machine.

Wade Boggs missed games after hurting himself putting on his cowboy boots.

Joel Zumaya strained his arm playing "Guitar Hero" on the PS2.

John Smoltz burned himself while ironing a shirt...he was wearing!    

* In the era of betraying contracts and players leaving clubs for money and thinking that they are bigger than the club itself, there is at least one professional who can be called a "true gentleman," I thought I'd share it with all the Bleacher Creatures here*

It is not only a period stacking shelves at Sainsbury's which makes Dave Kitson stand out among his Premier League peers. From his desire to meet with the Football Association to discuss how the governing body could improve to his admission that he has nothing in common with his team-mates and their fondness for cars, bling and expensive labels, the Reading striker, unlike so many of his counterparts, likes to tell it how it is.

Kitson leaves few subjects untouched during an interview which lasts almost as long as a match—at one stage he spends several minutes expressing his frustration at the number of meaningless stories on the 10 o'clock news each night—but it is his thoughts on the profession that will turn him into a millionaire which are most revealing. "I would rather be regarded as a human being than a footballer," he said. "I don't like being bracketed as a footballer."

Being a footballer should mean conforming to all the usual stereotypes but Kitson, is very much his own person. He is almost apologetic when he reveals he is the owner of a Louis Vuitton washbag—"I didn't buy that, it was a present"— but there is no need to provide excuses for a 4X4, flash watch or designer clothes, all of which are regarded as must-have footballer accessories.

"I don't own a car," said the 27-year-old. "I refuse to shell out the amount of money for a car that I should be worthy of having at this level. If I spent more than £10,000 on a car, if you could see where I came from, and you could see what my dad is driving around in and you could see my friends who I used to play football with driving around in their Sky vans, it just wouldn't be right. I'm no better than any of those.

"Some of those players were 10 times the player I was. I got lucky. If I went back into my neighbourhood in a Porsche or a Bentley there would be hell to pay. That's just cars. I have no jewellery. I don't wear any chains or any watches. I wear plain clothes, no logos. I don't have a boot deal—I refuse to have one. I am just happy going along and being me and I really don't want to be that fella what I see every day. I really want to avoid it."

It is a refreshing attitude and one which has brought rich reward on the pitch. Kitson has flourished since moving from non-league Arlesey Town to Cambridge United and then Reading, with his path to the top providing additional incentive in a Premier League replete with household names. "My biggest motivation is to say, "This guy cost £10m and he's won God knows what. Well, I'm Dave Kitson, I cost £150,000 from Cambridge and I ran the show today'."

There is no doubt that working for Sainsbury's as a teenager has also coloured his approach to football. "I never understood because I was wearing the Sainsbury's clip-on tie with that uniform and the dodgy waistcoat, why somebody in a black suit could talk to me the way they did," said Kitson. "They treated you monstrously. You were abused every single day. It hardens you a little bit and I won't take any nonsense from anyone to this day."

Kitson is proud of his progress since then, although he has no wish to dwell on his own career. He enjoys watching junior football and is passionate enough about the development of young players to push for a meeting with the FA to put forward some suggestions. "I'm not interested in creating any publicity. I would rather slip under the radar and just be involved and learn, find out what they are doing and say, 'These are my ideas, what do you think?'"

He believes that the FA could be far more proactive. "Most players leave the game and decide they don't want to coach. That's a massive waste of knowledge and it also affects our future national team. Yet it could be so easily remedied—and that's what I want to draw attention to. I don't believe in telling anyone what they should do, all that bollocks about 'Foot-ball has been good to you and it's time to give something back'. If you want to live on an island, do that. But if you want to help, the FA should be dragging you in.

"They should be listening to any top-level player who wants to offer anything. I don't think a lot of players feel that opportunity is there for them. You can't just roll up to the FA and say: 'I'm here, what do you want me to do?' But there needs to be something where the FA says, 'This is for ex-players. Where you are living it would be a massive benefit if you did a little bit of coaching'."

Kitson would like to speak to Steve Coppell about his wider views on the game but he accepts that is impossible because the Reading manager must remain detached from the players. His team-mates ought to be an easier option but he admits to "frustrations" when trying to strike up conversation with people who do not share the same interests. "I'm not particularly good at communicating with them and talking to them because I just find I have nothing in common."

"It's difficult to be different," he continued. "People think you're arrogant because you don't entertain the usual, 'shag anything that moves'—but I hate all that. If one of the lads has a new watch I'll try it on and then say, 'have it back'. If someone's got a new car, I might have a lttle sit in it, but I could never draw attention to myself unnecessarily. Why do people want to do that—to be a showman? It's on the pitch where I want to stand out from everyone."


Dave Kitson-A True Professional.

* I would like to thank Stuart James from The Guardian for sharing this piece with us. Link here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2007/dec/29/newsstory.reading *

It's not going well for the Americans when it comes to what is rightfully known as the beautiful game of football. But for you its called soccer so hey tomato tomato.

The 3 games have not been played to a standard which can compete with 3 teams which on their day can be world beaters.

The first problem as a football fanatic that I see is the goalkeeper. Personally Tim Howard is not the best choice there are other magnificent goalkeepers in the best league in the world. The one i would pick is Marcus Hahnemann. As a keeper he has shown strength, courage and passion for the game. This seems to be the only problem with the individuals.

The team do not seem to be as one. A unit. A full package. During the England game every player on the field apart form Brian Mcbride might as well have had their heads in the ground they were so low. The pressure applied by the team was non- existent and teams were strolling through waving as they went passed.

Acknowledging that this is not Americas most loved sport I think if more effort was put into it as in kids were introduced to this and made aware its a good sport to get into then the team would have mass improvements. We Brits live it, Breathe it, Eat it, Sleep it and O.K. we don't have the best team in the world but we're up there. Every town in England you are guaranteed to see goal posts and kids playing football. So unless this starts happening There's a slim chance of America improving.

One idea not to use is bringing in other tpes of sportsmen to play the game. Learn from us. Castleford Tigers rugby club used the sprinter Dwayne Chambers as a hooker and it didnt work he was awful, he was that bad he didn't get to play.

The fact of the matter is if the sport is not encouraged and made to seem a good investment of time then the sport will go no where. With a little money added and the encouragement then America can turn the tables and come back.

It is the heart of the football offseason.  For die-hard fans, it can be tough to fill the days that lack football.

May I suggest you try putting your Husker obsession to some reasonably good use by cracking open a book?  Not only will it help scratch the football itch, you might actually learn something too.

Here are a couple of suggestions to help you get started.

New and Edgy

Of course, I’m opening this list with the most recent material to come off of the presses.  Jason Peter’s memoir, Hero of the Underground, comes out in July.  It’s drawing some pretty good early reviews.

Peter—a legit Husker bad-ass in the 1990s—got heavily into drug use, washed out as a pro, cleaned up, and has resurfaced hosting a radio program in Lincoln.  The book apparently pulls few punches when it comes to the ugly truth of Peter’s life.

A Couple of My Favorites

When it comes to Husker reading, there is a lot to choose from out there.  Whole shelves at local book stores in Nebraska are dedicated to Husker football, and a search on Amazon provides dozens of options.  You can read about everything from Husker heroes to game day traditions and even the physics of football (nerd!).

Forced to pick two that I think most fans would like or learn from, I’ll go with More Than Winning and Huskerville.

Of the several books by and about Tom Osborne, More Than Winning is hands down the best.  It was published in 1985, following NU’s failed bid for that National Title in 1983, and before Osborne cemented his legend as a coach and fans believed he could walk on water.

It is a frank and plainspoken account of Osborne’s life and his philosophies.  It chronicles Osborne’s roots very well, and it is that much cooler to read now more than 20 years later.  You gain an entirely new perspective on Osborne’s choices later in his career by reading this book now.  It kind of makes me wonder if Bo Pelini has read it, or if he would want to.

Huskerville is an entirely different kind of book and was published much more recently.  The author, Roger C. Aden, is a faculty member at the University of Ohio.  The book is as much about anthropology as it is football.  It is telling a “story of Nebraska football, fans and the power of place.”

Aden’s basic contention is that geography and culture are as important as blocking and tackling when it comes to Husker football fans.  I think he’s spot on.  Of course, I’m an anthropology and sociology nerd, too.  The book does read a bit academically, with many citations, though that is to be expected.

Aden does an excellent job of weaving people’s personal stories into the narrative.  It comes as close to capturing the nature of the Husker fan base as anything I’ve read so far.

Blasphemy Can Be Entertaining Too

If you aren’t afraid to hear some ugly hard truths or confront possible demons, I suggest you read Big Red Confidential.  A young Armen Keteyian used this negative depiction of Osborne’s 1980s Huskers as a way to shine some more light on college football’s dark side, and, frankly, to make a bigger name for himself.

It has sort of become to Husker fans what The Da Vinci Code is to Catholics.  It’s blasphemy to think of Osborne that way, but you still can’t stop turning the pages.  Osborne supposedly tried to suppress the book.  Neither the publisher nor the author got sued for libel, so it can’t be that egregiously far from the truth.

Big Red Confidential will probably make some of you angry.  But it does a good job of showing how sordid things in big time college sports can be—and that was almost twenty years ago!

There’s my short list of recommendations.  Like I said, there are dozens to choose from.  I’d like to hear what some of your favorite Husker books are and why.

Just finished reading an interesting (and, frankly, tragic) biography, titled American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer

. The authors (Bird and Sherwin) pull together a herculean breadth of biographical information about Oppenheimer’s life and wind it into a careful look at a complex man.

A few things really stand out to me from the biography:

• The power of Oppenheimer’s personality as a scholar, a scientists’ scientist and, later on, as a polarizing political intellectual with great moral breadth. Reading about his depth of personal interests provided a roundness to him that we don’t usually imagine about brilliant scientists.
• The complicated moral implications of fathering the atomic bomb. It would be simple and convenient if Oppenheimer had simply come to categorically regret building the bomb, but his emotions on the matter were much more nuanced and complex. His perspective could be described as some mixture of fatherly pride, moral regret, resigned disappointment (in Truman and others), and accepting responsibility.
• The chilling parallels between the atmosphere of the McCarthy era, of which Oppenheimer was the most prominent victim, and the current U.S. presidential administration.
• Lastly, the minor character flaws of Oppenheimer that, combined with a Shakespearean cast of politically-connected enemies that he built over the years, ultimately led to his effective exile from American policy. Here was a man of tremendous intellect and wealth of knowledge - it was almost as if he had no time for the political sensitivity that would have kept him safe.

Bird and Sherwin do a great job of objectively walking through the life of a great American hero and tragedy. You end up with great admiration for both the brilliance of Oppenheimer and the subtle job by the authors in examining Oppenheimer’s own character flaws.