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The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks – Book Reviews
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Booklist Reviews
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*Starred Review* The "first immortal human cells," code-named HeLa, have flourished by the trillions in labs all around the world for more than five decades, making possible the polio vaccine, chemotherapy, and many more crucial discoveries. But where did the HeLa cells come from? Science journalist Skloot spent 10 years arduously researching the complex, tragic, and profoundly revealing story of Henrietta Lacks, a 31-year-old African American mother of five who came to Johns Hopkins with cervical cancer in 1951, and from whom tumor samples were taken without her knowledge or that of her family. Henrietta died a cruel death and was all but forgotten, while her miraculous cells live on, "growing with mythological intensity." Skloot travels to tiny Clover, Virginia; learns that Henrietta's family tree embraces black and white branches; becomes close to Henrietta's daughter, Deborah; and discovers that although the HeLa cells have improved countless lives, they have also engendered a legacy of pain, a litany of injustices, and a constellation of mysteries. Writing with a novelist's artistry, a biologist's expertise, and the zeal of an investigative reporter, Skloot tells a truly astonishing story of racism and poverty, science and conscience, spirituality and family driven by a galvanizing inquiry into the sanctity of the body and the very nature of the life force. Copyright 2009 Booklist Reviews.
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Library Journal Reviews
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This distinctive work skillfully puts a human face on the bioethical questions surrounding the HeLa cell line. Henrietta Lacks, an African American mother of five, was undergoing treatment for cancer at Johns Hopkins University in 1951 when tissue samples were removed without her knowledge or permission and used to create HeLa, the first "immortal" cell line. HeLa has been sold around the world and used in countless medical research applications, including the development of the polio vaccine. Science writer Skloot, who worked on this book for ten years, entwines Lacks's biography, the development of the HeLa cell line, and her own story of building a relationship with Lacks's children. Full of dialog and vivid detail, this reads like a novel, but the science behind the story is also deftly handled. VERDICT While there are other titles on this controversy (e.g., Michael Gold's A Conspiracy of Cells: One Woman's Immortal Legacy—and the Medical Scandal It Caused), this is the most compelling account for general readers, especially those interested in questions of medical research ethics. Highly recommended. [See Skloot's essay, p. 126; Prepub Alert, LJ 11/1/09.]—Carla Lee, Univ. of Virginia Lib.,Charlottesville
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New Yorker, 2/15/2010, Vol. 86 Issue 1, p141-141, 1/6p. (Book Review)
In 1951, Henrietta Lacks, a poor black mother of five, came to Johns Hopkins, in Baltimore, to receive treatment for cervical cancer; eight months later, she was dead. Some of her cancer cells, however, became the first human cells to reproduce and survive indefinitely outside the human body. Before long, they were multiplying in labs around the world, and the research they made possible has contributed to everything from the polio vaccine to gene mapping. But when, eventually, the Lacks children learned of this they felt exploited and betrayed. Had the hospital given their mother cancer, so that it could use her as a guinea pig? Were there clones of Lacks living in England, like Dolly the sheep? Skloot set out to uncover the story of Lacks and her genetic descendants--both inside and outside the lab. This extraordinary account shows us that miracle workers, believers, and con artists populate hospitals as well as churches, and that even a science writer may find herself playing a central role in someone else's mythology.
Christie, Dolores L.. Magill Book Reviews-37. (Book Review)
Science/Biography
For decades after her death, the seemingly immortal cells (known as HeLa) of Henrietta Lacks have continued to reproduce. Mrs. Lacks died of cervical cancer in 1951, after unsuccessful and generally brutal treatment characteristic of the times. Her abnormal cells proved extraordinarily useful and lucrative to medical science. Before HeLa, human cell cultures quickly died. Hers did not. Even today they continue to generate millions of dollars in profit. Unbelievably, Lacks' heirs have never seen a penny.
Author Rebecca Skloot spent many years interviewing the Lacks family. While initially they were resistant to her intrusion--they had already been exploited many times--Skloot managed to gain their trust. She became more than an external observer, spending days and sometimes nights with family members. Her interviews and dogged pursuit of the facts have resulted in an extraordinary tale. The author uncovers yellowed photos and dusty hospital records. She participates in a bizarre religious experience and even fisticuffs with Henrietta's daughter, Deborah. The resulting back account of this dysfunctional southern clan will rivet the reader.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks includes pictures of Henrietta and her surviving relatives, scenes of where she lived, and people involved early in the scientific project that the HeLa cells spawned. The author handles deftly the different threads of her research. She maintains a delicate membrane of objectivity with the family, even as she is drawn into their lives. The book includes notes, an index, and suggestions for further reading. It is a gripping story of the complex and often tragic Lacks' family, the birth and ongoing life of the Hela cells, and the scientific world that continues to use the cells seeking cures and knowledge. As the chapter groupings suggest, this is a story of life, death, and immortality.
New Yorker, 2/15/2010, Vol. 86 Issue 1, p141-141, 1/6p. (Book Review)
In 1951, Henrietta Lacks, a poor black mother of five, came to Johns Hopkins, in Baltimore, to receive treatment for cervical cancer; eight months later, she was dead. Some of her cancer cells, however, became the first human cells to reproduce and survive indefinitely outside the human body. Before long, they were multiplying in labs around the world, and the research they made possible has contributed to everything from the polio vaccine to gene mapping. But when, eventually, the Lacks children learned of this they felt exploited and betrayed. Had the hospital given their mother cancer, so that it could use her as a guinea pig? Were there clones of Lacks living in England, like Dolly the sheep? Skloot set out to uncover the story of Lacks and her genetic descendants--both inside and outside the lab. This extraordinary account shows us that miracle workers, believers, and con artists populate hospitals as well as churches, and that even a science writer may find herself playing a central role in someone else's mythology.
Christie, Dolores L.. Magill Book Reviews-37. (Book Review)
Science/Biography
For decades after her death, the seemingly immortal cells (known as HeLa) of Henrietta Lacks have continued to reproduce. Mrs. Lacks died of cervical cancer in 1951, after unsuccessful and generally brutal treatment characteristic of the times. Her abnormal cells proved extraordinarily useful and lucrative to medical science. Before HeLa, human cell cultures quickly died. Hers did not. Even today they continue to generate millions of dollars in profit. Unbelievably, Lacks' heirs have never seen a penny.
Author Rebecca Skloot spent many years interviewing the Lacks family. While initially they were resistant to her intrusion--they had already been exploited many times--Skloot managed to gain their trust. She became more than an external observer, spending days and sometimes nights with family members. Her interviews and dogged pursuit of the facts have resulted in an extraordinary tale. The author uncovers yellowed photos and dusty hospital records. She participates in a bizarre religious experience and even fisticuffs with Henrietta's daughter, Deborah. The resulting back account of this dysfunctional southern clan will rivet the reader.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks includes pictures of Henrietta and her surviving relatives, scenes of where she lived, and people involved early in the scientific project that the HeLa cells spawned. The author handles deftly the different threads of her research. She maintains a delicate membrane of objectivity with the family, even as she is drawn into their lives. The book includes notes, an index, and suggestions for further reading. It is a gripping story of the complex and often tragic Lacks' family, the birth and ongoing life of the Hela cells, and the scientific world that continues to use the cells seeking cures and knowledge. As the chapter groupings suggest, this is a story of life, death, and immortality.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Science journalist Skloot makes a remarkable debut with this multilayered story about "faith, science, journalism, and grace." It is also a tale of medical wonders and medical arrogance, racism, poverty and the bond that grows, sometimes painfully, between two very different women—Skloot and Deborah Lacks—sharing an obsession to learn about Deborah's mother, Henrietta, and her magical, immortal cells. Henrietta Lacks was a 31-year-old black mother of five in Baltimore when she died of cervical cancer in 1951. Without her knowledge, doctors treating her at Johns Hopkins took tissue samples from her cervix for research. They spawned the first viable, indeed miraculously productive, cell line—known as HeLa. These cells have aided in medical discoveries from the polio vaccine to AIDS treatments. What Skloot so poignantly portrays is the devastating impact Henrietta's death and the eventual importance of her cells had on her husband and children. Skloot's portraits of Deborah, her father and brothers are so vibrant and immediate they recall Adrian Nicole LeBlanc's Random Family. Writing in plain, clear prose, Skloot avoids melodrama and makes no judgments. Letting people and events speak for themselves, Skloot tells a rich, resonant tale of modern science, the wonders it can perform and how easily it can exploit society's most vulnerable people. (Feb.)
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