The Only Woman in the Room

Summary:

Her beauty almost certainly saved her from the rising Nazi party and led to marriage with an Austrian arms dealer. Underestimated in everything else, she overheard the Third Reich's plans while at her husband's side, understanding more than anyone would guess. She devised a plan to flee in disguise from their castle, and the whirlwind escape landed her in Hollywood. She became Hedy Lamarr, screen star.

But she kept a secret more shocking than her heritage or her marriage: she was a scientist. And she knew a few secrets about the enemy. She had an idea that might help the country fight the Nazis...if anyone would listen to her.

A powerful novel based on the incredible true story of the glamour icon and scientist whose groundbreaking invention revolutionized modern communication, “The Only Woman in the Room” is a masterpiece. (Summary and cover courtesy of goodreads.com)

Review:

The majority of this book would get a 4-star rating, but the ending definitely pulled it down to a three for me.  I had heard that actress Hedy Lamarr was a fascinating character who also had created the foundation for frequency-hopping spread spectrum, but I had no idea about her early life.  One-half based in Europe and half in the United States, it’s interesting to see hypothetically see how Hedy would have had to manipulate through society in a way to ensure her success without sacrificing her morals completely.

I understand there are limitations to what the author could “set up” in the ending of the book, but the way it was portrayed ended on quite a bit of a downer rather than an inspiration.  That may be realistic, but it’s something I’ll have to spend some time researching.  I would have enjoyed a little more exploration her later life and not the abrupt cutoff.

Rating: 3 stars!

Who should read it? Folks intrigued to learn more about Hedy Lamarr and how she got into scientific research.