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The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Paperback – March 8, 2011

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Rebecca Skloot (Author)
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Rebecca Skloot (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars 4,757 customer reviews
#1 Best Sellerin African American Demographic Studies
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 381 pages
  • Publisher: Broadway Books (March 8, 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1400052181
  • Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1.1 x 8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4,757 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #138 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsThank you for this beautiful tribute to Henrietta Lacks
By EJ on February 5, 2010
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
Wow. This book should be required reading for scientists and students of life. The true story of Henrietta Lacks and her family has finally been told, beautifully, in this book. The book encompasses science, ethics, and the story of a family who was terribly wronged in the pursuit of scientific research. I could gush about this book for pages but I'll try first to hit the main points of why this book is so remarkable in list form for the sake of brevity:

1. The author clearly developed a strong relationship with the Lacks family, which was absolutely critical to ensuring the story was told accurately and with the respect to Henrietta Lacks that was so deeply deserved.

2. The storytelling is amazingly moving despite the need to convey a lot of scientific information. It reads like fiction.

3. Ms. Skloot's research into the science is impeccable.

4. The book is FAIR. It presents the unvarnished truth, obtained DIRECTLY from as many prinicpal people involved in the story as is humanly possible. It would have been easier to simplify the story into heroes vs. villians, but Ms. Skloot deftly handles all sides of the story.

For some detail: I have worked with HeLa cells in the past, but did not know even the barest information about the story of Henrietta Lacks until a few years ago. It simply was not common knowledge, until a few less ethical folks released her name and medical records to the public. This obviously should not have been done without the express permission of the Lacks family, which Ms. Skloot obtained. In the past, others have not been as ethical. The book covers Ms. Lacks' early life, how her cells came to be harvested, and what happened to both the cells and her family afterward.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsCaptivating, engrossing, fascinating, heartbreaking, englightening...ALL in one stellar book!
By Living it up TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE VOICE on January 16, 2010
Format: Hardcover Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )
This is hand's down one of the best books I've read in years and I wish I could give it more stars. It is going to be difficult to capture exactly what makes this book so outstanding and so captivating, but I'm going to give it my best shot.

First of all I want to say I am STUNNED that this is the author's first book. She has poured ten years of her heart, soul, mind and her life in general in this book. What she has given birth to in that long period of labor is worthy of her sacrifice and honors Henrietta Lacks and her family.

Other reviews have given the outline of this amazing story. What I want to stress is that Ms. Skloot has navigated the difficult terrain of respecting Mrs. Lacks and her family, while still telling their story in a very intimate, thorough, factual manner. What readers may not know is that the Lacks family isn't just a "subject" that the author researched. This is a real family with real heartaches and real challenges whose lives she entered into for a very long season. The Lacks' family has truly benefitted from the author's involvement in their life and that is something I am very appreciative of. I believe that Ms. Skloot was able to give Henrietta's daughter, Deborah, a real sense of healing, deliverance, peace and identity that she had been searching for her whole life...that story alone would have made the book for me.

It would have been very easy for the author to come across as condescending or patronizing or possibly as being exploitive as she wrote about a family that is poor and uneducated.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 stars2010 Non-Fiction Award Winner?
By G.I Gurdjieff TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE VOICE on January 8, 2010
Format: Hardcover Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )
As I recall this book was categorized as CANCER, I believe it might be more aptly described as science based non-fiction. In the last two decades I've seen occasional news items alluding to human cells taken from a black woman in the 1950's that have been replicated millions of times. The cells are referred to as HeLa and on the face of it I wouldn't have thought there was much of a story behind the extraction of these cells and their use by the biomed industry. However, this book dispells that rather naive assumption completely and puts a name and a face, a family, and a story behind the contents of many petri dishes and slides. THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS explains how the cells were obtained, replicated, distributed, and used without informed consent of the owner and family by John Hopkins and how they benefitted mankind w/o compensation to the family. Author Skloot tells the story of a family victimized by socioeconomic conditions and racism that can't get fundamental things like health coverage while these cells make a lot of money for the health establishment. It is a disturbing read that will stay with the reader long after the book is finished. It may also make the reader take a long hard look at the need for standardized health care in our society among many other things.
The one thing that I found fascinating about this book is how Skloot managed to take a generally dry topic that might have been addressed in a scientific textbook and humanized it on a very personal level by developing a close relationship with Henrietta's family. The input received from the family took this book to a higher level and made it a very personsl story. From my perspective, it was very hard not to get involved with the Lacks family and not feel their sense of betrayal and loss.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsThe subject is awesome!

I gave this book to a friend who had lost her original paper back copy. She was so thrilled! The subject is awesome!

Published 10 hours ago by reinie2
5.0 out of 5 starsIncredible story...... A MUST READ !!!!!

Fascinating, well written and researched....... Highly recommend.....

Published 1 day ago by Janice Lynn V.
5.0 out of 5 starsFantastic read and true!

A must read! Fabulous story of truth. I had no idea all the advancements from one person's cells. Looking forward to the movie.

Published 1 day ago by EARK
5.0 out of 5 starsAmazing read.

I had never even thought about the fact that the "tissue" and "cells" used for research have these previous "lives." This book was so fascinating and educational.

Published 3 days ago by Lisa L. Plette
5.0 out of 5 starsVery insightful

I totally enjoyed this book. Being in the medical field gave me a keen interest in the HeLa cells and tissue usage. I think this book is a great read and very thought provoking. Read more

Published 4 days ago by Parachute
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

book is larger than I thought excited to give this book as a birthday present.

Published 4 days ago by charlene adkins
5.0 out of 5 starsImmersive! Awh inspiring story

This book is a merge of an African American family + science! Many times the both are hardly ever in the same sentence. Read more

Published 5 days ago by Shawntavia Rush
5.0 out of 5 starsGreat book!

This book is a page turner!!

Published 5 days ago by JESSICA CREACH
5.0 out of 5 starsThe Immortal Life of Hennietta Lacks

Bought for grandson. He loved it.

Published 6 days ago by carolyn Sasser
3.0 out of 5 starsRead this book.

This book is a hard read but has a lot of very awesome factual information. The medical ethicist in me was drooling at the mouth! Read more

Published 6 days ago by Amazon Customer

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