Andrei Sakharov was in many ways the Russian equivalent of Robert Oppenheimer. Both men were brilliant physicists who were instrumental in creating insidious weapons of mass destruction. Both became strong advocates of human rights and both found that their scientific achievements could only protect them from their governments up to a point. In his biography of Sakharov, Bergman (history, Central Connecticut State University) reminds the reader that Sakharov did not suffer from the guilt that consumed Oppenheimer. Sakharov believed that it was important to have a strong defensive system. His disquiet was related to individual liberties within the Soviet Union. His championing of the dissident cause and the rights of ethnic minorities, including both German-Russians and Jews, brought him into conflict with the government and he spent several years in internal exile in Gorky. Bergman's is very much an intellectual biography, following the course of Sakharov's developing commitment to human rights. This is an inspiring portrait of a man known in the West more as a symbol that as a person. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)