#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
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 … 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.
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Fantastic true story. You will always remember Henrietta Lacks and how her cells helped cancer research.
This book was eye-opening and troubling, but very informative and well done.
I love reading on the lives of others, especially when they have something to teach us. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks offered just that. By the title alone, I assumed this was mostly a biography of Henrietta. I was wrong. Her life, cut short while just a young mother, really is the ground upon which this book is built.
There are several …
A cell culturing doctor friend of mine told me that this book changed the industry. A very informative non-technical look at the science of cell culture related to disease science.
So very interesting and so sad. Well done.
This book is so good that there is a movie also and it opened my eyes about how some low income people are treated because they are uneducated can’t wait to see movie
Fascinating
This work of nonfiction is truly fascinating.
The book is a reminder of class struggle and generally accepted class privileges. In the power pyramid, power always pushes downward.in the extreme, those at the top of the pyramid have little or no regard for anyone at the base. At the top there are titles of grandeur, but descending one becomes a digit in a colossal sum.
The nonfictional story …
Perfect mix of family story and science
A unique story, that keeps you interested, whether you like science or not.
This is a wonderful book about an interesting chapter in American Medical History, and about the real lives that, for better or for worse, are a part of that history. Well written, informative and overall an amazing story.
Difficult on your emotions but a necessary read.
The information imparted by this book was eye-opening. It will make you think about what happens to your tissue after biopsy and surgery and the greed of TODAY’s pharmaceutical companies.
This is one of my favorite books of all time! A true story of where our first cells were reproduced and how they helped millions around the world. Henrietta Lacks was a poor black woman who had ovarian cancer. Her cells were so unique that the doctors were able to reproduce them and hence create all the vaccines we have in the world today. A …
Gives insight into scientific study and it’s offshoots.
A must read for everyone
Excellent
This book tells so much about the development of modern treatment of female cancer and how they used this woman as a guinea pig simply because she was poor and available with the disease they wanted to study.
I was loaned this book years ago by a colleague in her last year of college, training to become a nurse. The book was required reading. Her summary of this book intrigued me; the impact of its content has never faded. In 1951, Henrietta Lacks was treated for cervical cancer at John Hopkins Hospital. Her doctor performed a biopsy of her tumor and …
From a science standpoint this book is amazingly. We owe an awful lot to Henrietta For her cells that just keep on giving.