Sue's Selection: "The Only Woman in the Room," by Marie Benedict

DATE: Noon Saturday April 20

SUE'S SELECTION: "The Only Woman in the Room," by Marie Benedict

SITE: Bohemian Brewery

Guten Tag, meine Damen!

A BOOK REVIEW by Patty!

"Absolutely fascinating!  I finished it and loved the story.  What a woman!  What a woman!

I know that in the 1940s women weren't even allowed to buy a home or purchase property.  They weren't allowed to teach school if they were married.  Nurses had to wear nursing caps and dresses.  Even when I graduated high school in 1962, girls had to wear dresses or skirts to school.  No pants.  Many of the male students wore ties, if not all.  Even when I went to junior high school, my home ec teacher was pregnant.  Only home ec teachers were allowed to teach if they were pregnant!

So it was easy for me to understand why Hedy's invention was poo-pooed -- only because she was a woman.

I thought it was interesting that when her patent on her invention expired, the navy bought it up and classified it as top secret.

I loved the book and now I'm reading another one by the same author called, The Other Einstein.  It seems equally interesting.  Because she was a woman, she didn't get the recognition she deserved and her husband rose to fame on HER shirttails.  I'm really glad I live in this era of women's acceptance.  Now doctors, bankers, politicians, CEO's. university presidents, etc.  Back in the day, women could only be secretaries, nurses, or teachers if they were single."