Book Review: Hedy's Folly by Richard Rhodes (2011)
Synopsis: By the 1940s, Hedy Lamarr was a successful actress in Hollywood, known for her beauty. In her spare time, however, she was an inventor. When World War II broke out, Hedy, along with composer George Antheil, teamed up to invent a weapon that could be used against the Nazis and, instead, invented a technology that is still being used today. Review: I came across this book while walking through the stacks at my local library and, since I am a big fan of Hedy Lamarr and knew a little bit about her inventing hobby, decided to check it out. It turned out to be an interesting read. The book gives a fairly detailed account about both Lamarr and Antheil's lives before their paths crossed and they became a team. It also gives a great deal of detail about their invention (a radio-controlled torpedo that couldn't have its signal jammed), the difficulty they faced getting it approved by the military and how the technology wound up being used with various other inventions, includ...