Hedy Lamarr

Huffington Post's "Best Film Books for 2010"

"Well-written and well-researched, this book should be the definitive Hedy Lamarr biography for quite some time. Barton reveals a highly intelligent and emotionally complex woman behind the star image."—Jan-Christopher Horak, author of Lovers of Cinema: The First American Film Avant-Garde, 1919–1945

"The film world has been waiting for a thorough, reliable book on Hedy Lamarr, covering or uncovering everything from nudity to radar. Well, this is it, the best book on the strange lady we are likely to have."—David Thomson, author of The New Biographical Dictionary of Film

"The life of Hedy Lamarr, one of Hollywood's most beautiful faces, was dogged by controversy and condescension throughout her film career. Ruth Barton's definitive, highly-readable biography, however, finally gives the actress her dues."—Sunday Business Post

"An early scandalous sexpot, Lamarr married six times and was convicted of shoplifting, but her glamour made her one of Hollywood's hottest celebrities in the 1930s-40s."—LA Magazine

"Barton's biography details the rapid career rise of a young woman who was fortunate to be in the right places at the right time."—EDGE Atlanta

"Barton's attempt to illuminate this most mercurial of movie stars is a fascinating read-intriguing, tender, wise, and impeccably researched throughout. The result is a real page-turner. Now, here is a book that would make a great movie."—London Daily Mail

"Lamarr was a complicated woman, deserving of a more serious appraisal than the numerous tabloid accounts that till now have stood as the public record. . . . Barton . . . introduces interesting ancillary cultural referents, including tributes to Lamarr from admirers like Henry Miller and Joseph Cornell, and takes a more analytical, feminist approach."—New York Times

"Barton acknowledges the power of Lamarr's image - and concedes that her lasting appeal is not as a female Thomas Edison. She sees Lamarr's wasted potential, accurately portraying her as a difficult but intelligent woman who understood how much her beauty restricted her."—Jeanine Basinger, Wall Street Journal

"To learn more about the truths as well as the rumors surrounding Hedy's legendary presence, the new book . . . Hedy Lamarr: The Most Beautiful Women in Film . . . reveals the star's life in Europe and Hollywood and her surprising contributions to technology." —Irv Slifkin

"Barton's subtitle is no exagerration."—Choice

"Recommended"—Choice

"Carefully researched and zippily written, the book is the definitive companion to Lamarr's films." —London Review of Books

"Fact or fiction, this intriguing biography has again shown us why the light shone so brightly on the beautiful face of Hedy Lamarr, the most beautiful girl in the worl." — Studies in American Culture

"A well-written, interesting biography . . .the author has great insight into the life of the great star as well as the film industry at the time of her fame."—Book Bargains and Previews