Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

Apr 30, 2011 Rincey rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, 2011

Holy cow, I looooved this book. I kept finishing each chapter wanting to exclaim "Why isn't this book required reading of every child in school yet??" Yes, I do realize it was published in 2009 and these things take time, but this story is something everyone should read. It brings up the tragic life of the Lacks family, the horrible conditions of blacks, and horrible things science would do to them. But this book does what the family always wanted, brought fame to the woman Henrietta Lacks and t ...more

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Mar 03, 2011 Erin rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: biography-memoir, book-club, nonfiction

My thoughts about this book are a bit scattered, and perhaps my situation in the midst of what is starting to shape up as a chronic health problem didn't put me in the best frame of mind for reading it. I truly expected to love it, but I don't think I did. First, I almost always dislike it when the author of a non-memoir, non-fiction work becomes a main character in the story and that's what you saw here. I felt for the Lacks family, and the impact of the poverty and lack of education on the gen My thoughts about this book are a bit scattered, and perhaps my situation in the midst of what is starting to shape up as a chronic health problem didn't put me in the best frame of mind for reading it. I truly expected to love it, but I don't think I did. First, I almost always dislike it when the author of a non-memoir, non-fiction work becomes a main character in the story and that's what you saw here. I felt for the Lacks family, and the impact of the poverty and lack of education on the generations of the family followed here, but I also felt that Skloot might have done some members of the family a disservice by publishing this warts-and-all account of their lives, especially since their difficulties continue into present-day. Don't get me wrong - I don't doubt that Skloot had/has real affection for the Lackses, but they are portrayed as a family who hasn't risen above, and, in many cases, just the opposite. And she seems to place at least a portion for the blame for that at the feet of....well, who, exactly? Johns Hopkins? The medical research machine? For-profit biological corporations? A racist society? Or all of the above? However, there's no clear connection drawn.

In addition, Skloot takes pains to separate herself from all the other journalists who have come to the Lacks story before her....SHE certainly had no intention of using this family in any way, right? Except that she's become a famous, award-winning author from this book, and while her brief statement at the end of the book indicating that she's set up a foundation for the family, indicating that "some profits" will be donated to it, there's no clear statement of exactly how much, and for what purposes, precisely (and I realize that her lawyers wouldn't let her be more specific, but still...) In distinguishing her own motives from other authors, she even chastises Michael Gold, but it seems clear that she used his work extensively as a reference source, a separation that strikes me as disingenuous at best.

Perhaps my other difficulty with the book was the tone of an overall indictment of the medical research community. Cell research was in its infancy in the early 1950s. Henrietta's cells were a true miracle, but not one that could have been anticipated - I can only imagine that scientists all over the world took thousands of such liberties, but it would be difficult to argue that they didn't serve the greater good, and, as much as I feel for the Lacks family, there is simply no way to rectify that error now, so it was often frustrating to read about the Lackses palpable anger with no direction.

It's not that I hated the book, I just didn't love it. Henrietta Lacks lived a brief, difficult life and died in horrendous circumstances that were borne of both biology and society. She lives on through what her wondrous cells have given the world, and even though I wasn't crazy about the book, I'm glad that she, and her family, are receiving their due. ...more

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Mar 09, 2010 Ana rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, biographies, science

This is without a doubt the best book I've read in ages. Probably the best science book i've ever read, with the exception of Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything. Amazing detective work on the part of Ms. Skloot, digging into and connecting with the family of Mrs. Lacks. It reads like a novel and i couldn't wait to pick it up again and again and find out what came next. I can't say enough good things about it - even if you've never been interested in science at all, please read th ...more

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May 29, 2010 Sharon rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: vintage, history

I used the word crazy about 10 times to describe this book to Scott. If ignorance is bliss, a completely unknown world exists in the health sciences and disease/drug research and exploration. I have to say my heart goes out to Lacks family for dealing with the effects of a decision made long ago without their consent. A truly fascinating read that reminds you that truth is often stranger the fiction. I am glad to have learned more about the real HeLa, Henrietta Lacks. Thanks Kyes for the recomme ...more

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Mar 12, 2012 Kate rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audibleowned

I probably can't say much that hasn't already been said. But I will say: it was more compelling, sympathetic, and human(e) than I had expected. I knew there would be issues of racism, classism, and strains of the Tuskegee atrocity, but I was surprised by how personal and genuine it was in its portrayal of the Lacks family. It is also more ambivalent than I expected about the use of human tissue in scientific research.

Read it. ...more

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Oct 29, 2012 Catherine Knight rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This book is incredible. Both enlightening, and heartbreaking. Learning about the amazing advancements in science that were able to happen thanks to one woman's cells is something that is almost unthinkable. Really interesting to learn about Henrietta's family and what has become of them since her cells were first taken, and she passed away in 1951. ...more

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Jun 08, 2011 Melissa Wiebe rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction, books-on-the-nightstand, new-york-times-book-review, 2011

Until this book, I had never heard of HeLa cells, but had obviously benefited from the research that has been done in the 60 years as a result of Henrietta Lacks' death and so have billions of people. The research that was able to develop the polio vaccine in the 1950s was the result of research done on HeLa cells, so was research HPV, HIV, cancer and a number of diseases that have only been able to be treatable and understood in the last 60 years. It is not only a story of the development of ce ...more

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Feb 26, 2010 Maya rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, nook

I really enjoyed this book. I learned (and re-learned) a lot about cells and how they are used for important advances in pretty much all areas of science. Henrietta's particular cells (HeLa) and their journey is remarkable. Tied in with her present-day family's stories of encounters with research institutions and journalists, and their own understanding of what HeLa is and means, it's a very engrossing read. I couldn't give this book 5 stars though because—and maybe this will be an unpopular opi ...more

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Feb 28, 2010 Deb rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction, medical, bipoc

I'm kind of a sucker for the medical human interest story--and this one did not disappoint. If you've listened to NPR at all in the last couple of years, you could hardly have missed this book or this story.
It's a fascinating read--cells are taken from a poor Black woman with cervical cancer in the 1950s without her or her family's knowledge. Those cells then become the first human cells to survive in culture, and their ability to thrive and multiply allow tremendous medical advances.

The heartb ...more

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Mar 23, 2010 Shrop rated it liked it · review of another edition

Fascinating mix of history, ethics, medical technology, and human interest. Lost a little speed toward the end, but I'm really glad to know about Henrietta Lacks and the HeLa cells. ...more

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