Review of 'The Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks' on 'Goodreads'
1 star
this book is apparently inaccurate
381 pages
English language
Published Sept. 13, 2011
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Rebecca Skloot, REBECCA SKLOOT, Rebecca Skloot: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2011)
- ISBN:
- 978-1-4000-5218-9
Copied ISBN!
3 stars
(5 reviews)
Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells—taken without her knowledge in 1951—became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, and more. Henrietta's cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she remains virtually unknown, and her family can't afford health insurance. This phenomenal New York Times bestseller tells a riveting story of the collision between ethics, race, and medicine; of scientific discovery and faith healing; and of a daughter consumed with questions about the mother she never knew.
Review of 'The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
very, very well written. the transition between science and personal life of not only henrietta but her family members as well was very smooth. the only thing was i kinda got whiplash from the afterword because it went straight into super technical stuff. i guess it is only an afterword though. very good book, and i recommend it to everybody, but especially people who are involved in molecular biology.
A great combination of personal story and history
5 stars
This is a really great book to listen to. It was narrated well.
The content was great - a very neat combination of personal stories and the very important history of medical science in the US and the racism of it. I highly recommend this book!
kerry reviewed The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Review of 'The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
Of course it's heartbreaking that Henrietta Lacks's descendants must do without medical insurance while Henrietta's cells provide financial benefits to pharmaceutical companies. Rebecca Skloot concludes the book with a really good (if scholarly) analysis of the issues regarding tissue "donation" and medical research.
The story of the Lacks family was compelling; the historical record of the scientists and medical personnel was rather dry. In the end, I felt like there were too many competing storylines in this book to really make me feel involved with all of them.
kerry reviewed The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Review of 'The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
Of course it's heartbreaking that Henrietta Lacks's descendants must do without medical insurance while Henrietta's cells provide financial benefits to pharmaceutical companies. Rebecca Skloot concludes the book with a really good (if scholarly) analysis of the issues regarding tissue "donation" and medical research.
The story of the Lacks family was compelling; the historical record of the scientists and medical personnel was rather dry. In the end, I felt like there were too many competing storylines in this book to really make me feel involved with all of them.