From the Bookshelf of Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge…
Find A Copy At
Group Discussions About This Book
No group discussions for this book yet.
What Members Thought
The hubster and I had dinner with one of our favorite couples last night, and I started trying to describe why they should read Henrietta Lacks. This isn't my normal sort of reading in any way. I don't really love nonfiction. I have successfully avoided almost everything scientific (with the possible exception of medical interest stories and information) since undergrad. And yet this is a fantastic read. Cellular biology writ large, through both the science and the human aspects of what the fiel
...more
I started reading this early in the morning in the Syracuse airport. I read it on the plane, and those twenty minutes during the descent when they made us turn off all electronic devices, even readers, was awful. I got fifty percent through by then. Happily, I had nothing better to do for the rest of the day, so I kept reading, all afternoon and all evening. I'm not sure how I would have managed if I'd had to set it down! I could hardly stand to go to sleep that night, since I hadn't finished, b
...more
I liked the book, although I think that a deeper exploration of consent and medical research would have been interesting. I would have liked to read more about the history of nonconsensual medical research and experimentation, particularly as it relates to race. Skloot did an effective job of weaving together the narrative about Henrietta, Henrietta's descendants, and her own journey researching and writing this book. She also included a lot of the scientific information necessary to grasp what
...more
I really enjoyed the personal aspects of the book that discussed Henrietta's life and the lives of her children. However, some of the more technical parts that talked about how the cells were being used by some of the scientists got a little too technical for me. If I wasn't in a quiet room reading those parts, I had to read over certain paragraphs numerous times before I understood what they were talking about. Maybe I didn't pay enough attention when I took biology in high school.
...more
I enjoyed this book immensely. I liked the scientific and medical information about cell research and particularly the HeLa line of cells. But, I also loved the depictions of Henrietta's family members and the interactions between them and the author. Skloot shows clearly the impact that poverty and a lack of education had on the Lacks family for several generations. This book is equally a medical AND social history. Very interesting read.
...more
Love this book! Well-written non-fiction is so much more interesting than fiction. I learned so much about Henrietta Lacks and her family and her cells that have impacted so many areas of science. It opened up so many more questions than it answered - about race and culture, the value of education, bioethics, commercialization of tissues, patenting DNA, etc. and I'm looking forward to discussing with my book club! This book was 10 years in the making and it shows. Skloot dug up every last morsel
...more
Not sure why I didn't love this book. I thought it was interesting, and I liked the family element of the story. I like feeling connected to the characters, an I'm not really sure that happened.
This book is on a lot of lists, so I recommend reading it if you've had your eye on it. Enjoy! ...more
This book is on a lot of lists, so I recommend reading it if you've had your eye on it. Enjoy! ...more
May 26, 2010
Rachel
added it
Nov 08, 2011
Heather Wescott
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
biography
May 06, 2012
taeli
marked it as to-read
Nov 05, 2013
Maggie
marked it as to-read
Aug 21, 2015
Sarah
marked it as to-read
Mar 27, 2016
Theresa
marked it as to-read
Mar 12, 2017
Jen
is currently reading it
