Thirteen people took a break from trimming, baking, shopping, packing and wrapping to attend this month's book discussion. Many thanks, as always, for their participation. And special thanks to Bernie Gershon for his concise explanation of frequency hopping.
Our book was
Hedy’s Folly: the life and breakthrough inventions of Hedy Lamarr, the most beautiful woman in the world by Richard Rhodes. Everyone knows of Hedy Lamarr as a beautiful, exotic movie star who originally came from Austria. But who knew she was also an amateur inventor who, with American composer George Antheil, invented an electronics system that did much to create our modern world? During World War II, American torpedoes were notoriously faulty. Sixty percent were duds and the rest often missed their targets. A guidance system was needed. Radio control was a possibility, but a single frequency could be jammed. Lamarr and Antheil created a system where the radio control hopped, without sequence, to one of eighteen different frequencies. While the Navy rejected the system, it was adapted years later by engineers and helped to make cell phones and modern communications possible. Set in both Europe and Hollywood, the book is a fascinating study of the lives of Hedy and George and their invention. Our discussion was interesting and fun and a good time was had by all.
Our next meeting will be on Thursday, January 23, 2014 at 7:00 pm. The book to be discussed,
Death in the City of Light: the serial killer of Nazi-occupied Paris by David King, is available at the Circulation Desk. All are welcome.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.
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