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Hedy's Folly: The Life And Breakthrough Inventions Of Hedy Lamarr, The Most Beautiful Woman In The World (2000)

by Richard Rhodes(Favorite Author)

3.03 of 5 Votes: 3

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English

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review 1: The title is quite descriptive - Hedy Lamarr had more interests than being an actress and being a beautiful woman. An Austrian in the early 20th century, she became an actress and married unhappily to a wealthy arms manufacturer. She escaped the marriage by emigrating to the United States and became famous in the period prior to World War II. The majority of the book discusses her life and friends. On her inventive side, she worked with composer George Antheil to develop a system for radio controlled torpedoes to be jam-proof. Their work, and subsequent patent, led to spread spectrum radio and frequency hopping transmission and reception. This work is known to us today in wireless phones, cell phones, GPS navigation and other current technologies.I won't go into any ... morespecifics because it would spoil the book for new readers.Richard Rhodes wrote and excellent and well flowing book. He was familiar to me because I have read several other of his books: The Making of the Atomic Bomb; Dark Sun (hydrogen bomb); and Visions of Technology (as editor). All are excellent books and are highly recommended, as is Hedy's Folly.
review 2: Perhaps I should have rated this book three stars because it did not focus as much on Hedy Lamarr as I had expected but when I realized the author's intent I changed my mind. The overall information about Hedy's work with George Antheil and his background plus the social and cultural atmosphere of the times reveals so much about what it must have been like for the life of this beautiful woman with a mighty brain. First, she was a woman who loved to act and invent. Indeed, she kept her inventor's table close at hand for whenever she had an idea she wanted to pursue. Second, neither Hedy nor Antheil were scientists. And, finally, they did not have channels through which they could get their inventions used. Their guidance system for torpedoes was not used during WWII. Nevertheless, so much of what we take for granted today was pioneered by this duo including cell phones and blue tooth technology. less

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