The internationally bestselling story of a young woman whose death in 1951 changed medical science for ever . . .
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
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Review
'It's a harrowing story and Rebecca Skloot tells it well.' --Sunday Telegraph Paperback Pick
'An extraordinary mix of memoir and science reveals the story of how one woman's cells have saved countless lives.'
--Daily Telegraph
'extraordinary . . . This haunting account of [Henrietta Lacks'] and her family's treatment unearths appalling racism and injustice beneath the beauty and drama of scientific discovery.' --Guardian
`Compelling story of the unsung woman whose cells have been used in dozens of medical breakthroughs.'
--Sunday Times
'An extraordinary mix of memoir and science reveals the story of how one woman's cells have saved countless lives.'
--Daily Telegraph
'extraordinary . . . This haunting account of [Henrietta Lacks'] and her family's treatment unearths appalling racism and injustice beneath the beauty and drama of scientific discovery.' --Guardian
`Compelling story of the unsung woman whose cells have been used in dozens of medical breakthroughs.'
--Sunday Times
Book Description
Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. Born a poor black tobacco farmer, her cancer cells -- taken without her knowledge -- became a multimillion-dollar industry and one of the most important tools in medicine. Yet Henrietta's family did not learn of her 'immortality' until more than twenty years after her death, with devastating consequences . . . Balancing the beauty and drama of scientific discovery with dark questions about who owns the stuff our bodies are made of, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is an extraordinary journey in search of the soul and story of a real woman, whose cells live on today in all four corners of the world. 'A fascinating, harrowing, necessary book' Hilary Mantel, Guardian ‘A heartbreaking account of racism and injustice’ Metro 'A fine book... a gripping read...The book has deservedly been a huge bestseller in the US. It should be here, too' Sunday Times
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
132 of 137 people found the following review helpful
By Lady Fancifull
TOP 100 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
In 1951 human tissue culture was in its infancy, with researchers struggling to keep cells alive beyond a few cellular generations; normal cells are subject to apoptosis (programmed cellular lifespan/death)
Henrietta Lacks, a poor young black woman, was admitted to hospital in Baltimore in 1951 with an exceptionally invasive and aggressive cancer.
A standard biopsy was taken of her cancerous cells. She did not know that the biopsy would not be used purely for diagnostic purposes, but also tissues would be used for research. No consent was sought for this. In 1951 and indeed still today samples of tissue taken for diagnostic purposes can be used for other purposes - we do not own our tissues once they are no longer part of us.
Cancer cells are not subject to apoptosis. The particular aggressiveness of Henrietta Lack's cancer yielded astonishing results for tissue culture, and within a short space of time the `HeLa' cell line was being used for a wide number of medical research studies world wide, whether testing the actions of many pharmaceutical drugs or as part of the human genome project, and more.
`HeLa' has had profound, beneficial effects on probably most of us who benefit from modern medicine. HeLa has earned millions of dollars and much prestige for many predominantly white male scientists, as patents have been taken out on advances only possible through tissue culture using the HeLa line
However, Henrietta's family were unaware of the rich legacy she left the world - or the rich financial legacy reaped by institutions and individuals. In fact, they remained poor and unable to afford healthcare.... Read more ›
Henrietta Lacks, a poor young black woman, was admitted to hospital in Baltimore in 1951 with an exceptionally invasive and aggressive cancer.
A standard biopsy was taken of her cancerous cells. She did not know that the biopsy would not be used purely for diagnostic purposes, but also tissues would be used for research. No consent was sought for this. In 1951 and indeed still today samples of tissue taken for diagnostic purposes can be used for other purposes - we do not own our tissues once they are no longer part of us.
Cancer cells are not subject to apoptosis. The particular aggressiveness of Henrietta Lack's cancer yielded astonishing results for tissue culture, and within a short space of time the `HeLa' cell line was being used for a wide number of medical research studies world wide, whether testing the actions of many pharmaceutical drugs or as part of the human genome project, and more.
`HeLa' has had profound, beneficial effects on probably most of us who benefit from modern medicine. HeLa has earned millions of dollars and much prestige for many predominantly white male scientists, as patents have been taken out on advances only possible through tissue culture using the HeLa line
However, Henrietta's family were unaware of the rich legacy she left the world - or the rich financial legacy reaped by institutions and individuals. In fact, they remained poor and unable to afford healthcare.... Read more ›
98 of 103 people found the following review helpful
By E. Yong
Format:Hardcover
This is without question the best non-fiction book I've read in years. Skloot's debut is thrilling, original and refuses to be shoehorned into anything as trivial as a genre. Equal parts popular science, historical biography and detective novel, it reads as evocatively as any work of fiction.
Skloot repeatedly appears as a character in her own book, narrating her journey from first hearing about HeLa cells in a classroom to her attempts to contact and support the Lacks family. Her narration reveals the trials that the Lacks family have undergone since Henrietta's cells went global, and the sheer amount of trust it took to uncover the details of this story.
But this is really a book about three heroines - the two whose names grace the cover and Henrietta's daughter, Deborah Lacks. Skloot's personal mission to tell this story and Deborah's quest to know about her mother's life and legacy are central parts of Henrietta's story and they form some of the book's most compelling segments.
I write this review as someone who isn't typically a fan of historical non-fiction. Particularly in popular science, I often find descriptions of researchers to be distracting attempts at shoehorning in a human element that is out of keeping with the rest of the book. Not so here - this work has the most human of stories at its core, and never deviates from that important, and often heartbreaking, humanity. When science appears, it does so effortlessly, with explanations of cell anatomy or techniques like "fluorescence in situ hybridization" seamlessly worked into descriptions of the coloured wards of Johns Hopkins hospital to Lacks's hometown of Clover, Virginia.
Skloot's prose is witty, lyrical, economical and authoritative.... Read more ›
Skloot repeatedly appears as a character in her own book, narrating her journey from first hearing about HeLa cells in a classroom to her attempts to contact and support the Lacks family. Her narration reveals the trials that the Lacks family have undergone since Henrietta's cells went global, and the sheer amount of trust it took to uncover the details of this story.
But this is really a book about three heroines - the two whose names grace the cover and Henrietta's daughter, Deborah Lacks. Skloot's personal mission to tell this story and Deborah's quest to know about her mother's life and legacy are central parts of Henrietta's story and they form some of the book's most compelling segments.
I write this review as someone who isn't typically a fan of historical non-fiction. Particularly in popular science, I often find descriptions of researchers to be distracting attempts at shoehorning in a human element that is out of keeping with the rest of the book. Not so here - this work has the most human of stories at its core, and never deviates from that important, and often heartbreaking, humanity. When science appears, it does so effortlessly, with explanations of cell anatomy or techniques like "fluorescence in situ hybridization" seamlessly worked into descriptions of the coloured wards of Johns Hopkins hospital to Lacks's hometown of Clover, Virginia.
Skloot's prose is witty, lyrical, economical and authoritative.... Read more ›
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By T. North
Format:Paperback
I am not a scientist and tend to mostly read non-fiction. I bought this book because it was on special offer and started to read it somewhat reluctantly. After only a few pages, however, I found myself totally gripped by the story. The author declares it to be a a work of non-fiction. It is so much more than this. It is a turns a fascinating account of a bygone era both in terms of family relations, poverty and the history of medicine. It is extremely educational for someone like me, who would have struggled to describe a cell and its functions. Although I could in no way relate to the story of Henrietta Lacks's family and their subsequent brushes with the law and dysfunctional family relationships, I thought the author wrote about them with sensitivity and understanding and, according to her account, worked hard to bridge the gaps between herself and them. I cannot rate this book highly enough.
21 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book took me back to human biology classes and to being told about HeLa cells, named after Helen Lane, human cells that were able to reproduce outside the body, given a favourable growing medium.
There was no 'Helen Lane'. There was however, Henrietta Lacks, an African - American woman and mother of five children whose dying body was the source of the original HeLa cells. This is her powerful, beautifully written story and of the effects that story had on her family, particularly her brave and much troubled daughter Deborah.
There are heroes and villains and a fascinating look into life in the southern states of America before the changes wrought by the Civil Rights movement of the Sixties.
This book works on so many levels. Science students will be interested in the back-story to what to them is a laboratory commonplace, social historians will love the careful reconstruction of the period by Ms Skloot and those who love reading an interesting story on a topic of which they knew little or nothing will find much to enjoy.
It's rare to find non-fiction as lyrically written as this. The prose is wonderful, making this a difficult book to put down. The research was impeccable, this book was 10 years in the making and it shows. A book that should be on the reading list of every science student from GCSE upwards. Magical.
There was no 'Helen Lane'. There was however, Henrietta Lacks, an African - American woman and mother of five children whose dying body was the source of the original HeLa cells. This is her powerful, beautifully written story and of the effects that story had on her family, particularly her brave and much troubled daughter Deborah.
There are heroes and villains and a fascinating look into life in the southern states of America before the changes wrought by the Civil Rights movement of the Sixties.
This book works on so many levels. Science students will be interested in the back-story to what to them is a laboratory commonplace, social historians will love the careful reconstruction of the period by Ms Skloot and those who love reading an interesting story on a topic of which they knew little or nothing will find much to enjoy.
It's rare to find non-fiction as lyrically written as this. The prose is wonderful, making this a difficult book to put down. The research was impeccable, this book was 10 years in the making and it shows. A book that should be on the reading list of every science student from GCSE upwards. Magical.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great human as well as scientific story
This book is very gripping and well-written. The best part for me was the human story and learning about some amazing 'ordinary' people.
Published 10 days ago by Nora Ibrahimova
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating
The story itself is a totally absorbing read, the way that it is told only adds to the surprisingly gripping subject matter. Read more
Published 12 days ago by Bbe is me
4.0 out of 5 stars
Gripping
Well, I must admit that reading this book made me uncomfortable.
But it was definitely too interesting to give it up. Read more
But it was definitely too interesting to give it up. Read more
Published 16 days ago by Valentina
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating story
I enjoyed this story, although I did get a bit bogged down in some of the science. It opened my eyes to the other world that is the use of human cells for research. Read more
Published 17 days ago by Gill
5.0 out of 5 stars
none better,
As a scientist who has used these cells,
( and have a student culturing them as we speak) this is a must read. I will recommend it to everyone.
( and have a student culturing them as we speak) this is a must read. I will recommend it to everyone.
Published 22 days ago by jimiflan
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating Thought Provoking Read!
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
A book review by Ginger Dawn Harman
Imagine a poor black female tobacco farmer. Read more
A book review by Ginger Dawn Harman
Imagine a poor black female tobacco farmer. Read more
Published 23 days ago by Ginger D. Harman
5.0 out of 5 stars
A MOST MEMORABLE BOOK!
This remarkable true story that changed the ways of dealing with a certain type of cancer` forever, is quite a read! You are held by the story throughout!. Read more
Published 29 days ago by J. Marshall
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hela book
I saw this book reviewed some months ago and have been keen to read it since. I took it for my first choice on my Kindle. Read more
Published 1 month ago by S. E. Hardman
3.0 out of 5 stars
Bit to much about cells
Found the background relating to the family very interesting but like a lot of readers I'm sure skipped much of the technical stuff glad I read it though we all owe Henrietta a... Read more
Published 1 month ago by jean hatton
2.0 out of 5 stars
Some of it good
This is based on a true story, and the actual story could have stood Alone as a good book, but the medical part of this book was tiring.
Published 1 month ago by Chris
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