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    Unavailable
    Hedy's Folly: The Life and Breakthrough Inventions of Hedy Lamarr, the Most Beautiful Woman in the World
    Unavailable
    Hedy's Folly: The Life and Breakthrough Inventions of Hedy Lamarr, the Most Beautiful Woman in the World
    Unavailable
    Hedy's Folly: The Life and Breakthrough Inventions of Hedy Lamarr, the Most Beautiful Woman in the World
    Audiobook5 hours

    Hedy's Folly: The Life and Breakthrough Inventions of Hedy Lamarr, the Most Beautiful Woman in the World

    Written by Richard Rhodes

    Narrated by Bernadette Dunne

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    What do Hedy Lamarr, avant-garde composer George Antheil, and your cell phone have in common? The answer is spread-spectrum radio: a revolutionary inven­tion based on the rapid switching of communications sig­nals among a spread of different frequencies. Without this technology, we would not have the digital comforts that we take for granted today.

    Only a writer of Richard Rhodes's caliber could do justice to this remarkable story. Unhappily married to a Nazi arms dealer, Lamarr fled to America at the start of World War II; she brought with her not only her theatrical talent but also a gift for technical innovation. An introduction to Antheil at a Hollywood dinner table culminated in a U.S. patent for a jam- proof radio guidance system for torpedoes-the unlikely duo's gift to the U.S. war effort.

    What other book brings together 1920s Paris, player pianos, Nazi weaponry, and digital wireless into one satisfying whole? In its juxtaposition of Hollywood glamour with the reality of a brutal war, Hedy's Folly is a riveting book about unlikely amateur inventors collaborating to change the world.

    Editor's Note

    A gorgeous mind…

    We owe our modern digital age to a Hollywood star known more for her beauty and glamour than for her brilliant mind. The story of how she invented a revolutionary communication encryption method has it all: brains, fame, war, and scandal.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateNov 29, 2011
    ISBN9780307940582
    Unavailable
    Hedy's Folly: The Life and Breakthrough Inventions of Hedy Lamarr, the Most Beautiful Woman in the World
    Author

    Richard Rhodes

    Richard Rhodes is the author of numerous books and the winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the National Book Critics Circle Award. He graduated from Yale University and has received fellowships from the Ford Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Appearing as host and correspondent for documentaries on public television’s Frontline and American Experience series, he has also been a visiting scholar at Harvard and MIT and is an affiliate of the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University. Visit his website RichardRhodes.com.

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    Reviews for Hedy's Folly

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    • 5/5
      This book is great all around. It keeps a good pace diving into Hedy Lamar's adventure into inventing and her frequency hopping ideas. It also takes pleasant but informative side strolls into the other characters in her life as well as painting an appropriate setting to fully understand her story. As an engineer, it also covers the technology with a good amount of depth to appreciate the technical aspects of her contribution to communication. An enjoyable, short, but informative read. I am glad Ms. Lamar's legacy and contribution can continue through this book.