The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict ***

There are plenty of books about Hedy Lamarr (1914-2000). During WWII, she was both a famous movie star and an inventor. Her invention of frequency-hopping spread spectrum is used by today’s cell phone networks. The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict is divided into two parts. First (1933-37) is her marriage to an arms merchant and supporter of Nazi Germany in WWII. The second (1937-42) chronicles her first years in Hollywood.

During her years of fame Hedy had many affairs and husbands (6). As a brilliant, Jewish woman coming of age in Austria in the 1930s, her life must have been difficult. This book, a caricature of a beautiful inventor, stops before she reaches her thirtieth birthday. I can’t help thinking that she deserves more.

If you’re familiar with her, you’ll learn nothing new here.

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