Hedy Lamarr: An Incredible Life

Actress Hedy Lamarr was known as “the most beautiful girl in the world,” according to Roy and Dorange, but they reveal in this amiably meandering biography that there was much more to her than beauty. Lamarr was also an amateur inventor whose patent for frequency-shifting technology was later a cornerstone for Wi-Fi. Roy repeatedly hammers home Lamarr’s struggles with sexism and the ways in which she was dismissed both for her gender and her beauty. He also emphasizes the double standard Lamarr dealt with regarding sexuality, as she was lauded for her glamour but condemned for her sexually charged earlier films and the number of sexual partners she had. Dorange’s playful and colorful art evokes Hollywood glitz but also sensitively documents emotionally intimate moments, such as Lamarr’s father encouraging her curiosity or her son informing her that she’s being honored for her inventions. The book’s climax occurs when the U.S. military turns down Lamarr’s technology for torpedoes, urging her instead to help her adopted country by going on savings bond drives. That experience leads her away from discussing her inventions publicly, and she depends on her looks for the rest of her life despite aspiring to be a producer. The book is entertaining but focuses too much on the sexist forces Lamarr dealt with, never fully establishing her as a personality in her own right. (Nov.)