The Only Woman in the Room

by Marie Benedict

Hedy Lamarr was best known as a stunningly beautiful actress, but she was far more than a pretty face. Lamarr’s cleverness enabled her to escape Nazi Germany and her first husband, an arms dealer known as “The Merchant of Death.” Her brilliant mind brought knowledge of scientific secrets to the United States, where she developed an entire theory of frequency science that became the basis for a wide range of wireless communications technologies, including Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth.

Books for 2025–2026

• September 10, 2025: The Only Woman in the Room, by Marie Benedict

• October 8, 2025: The Frozen River, by Ariel Lawhon

• November 12, 2025: The Burrow, by Melanie Cheng

• December 10, 2025: The English Experience, by Julie Schumacher

• January 14, 2026: Hester, by Laurie Lico Albanese

• February 11, 2026: James, by Percival Everett

• March 11, 2026: Where Rivers Part, by Kai Kalia Yang

• April 8, 2026: Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here, by Jonathan Blitzer

• May 13, 2026: The Mighty Red, by Louise Erdrich