Why read Hedy Lamarr's Double Life?

Book cover of Hedy Lamarr's Double Life: Hollywood Legend and Brilliant Inventor

Book description

Age range 5+

To her adoring public, Hedy Lamarr was a glamorous movie star. But in private, she was something more: a brilliant inventor. Now Laurie Wallmark and Katy Wu, who collaborated on Sterling's critically acclaimed picture-book biography Grace Hopper: Queen of Computer Code, tell the inspiring story of how,…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked Hedy Lamarr's Double Life as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Debbie Dadey

Author

I love reading about women who break the mold-who do something everyone says they can’t.

Hedy Lamar was a famous actress, but she said herself, “People seem to think because I have a pretty face...I’m stupid.” She wasn’t! Among her many inventions was a glow-in-the-dark dog collar. Her most famous scientific work came from designing a frequency hopping system, that is still used in many electronics today.

From Debbie's list on women who wouldn’t give up.

Mara Rockliff

Author

Hedy Lamarr’s Double Life appealed to me because it speaks to a world in which girls and women are still judged by their appearance, regardless of what they’re actually doing. “People seem to think because I have a pretty face I’m stupid,” Hedy Lamarr commented. “I have to work twice as hard as anyone else to convince people I have something resembling a brain.” In fact, she was a brilliant inventor in addition to a glamorous Hollywood star. Her many inventions included frequency hopping, a technology essential to cell phones and other devices used today. (And no, she wasn’t credited…

From Mara's list on biographies of Jewish women.