The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (Hardcover)
| Author: Rebecca Skloot |
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Product Details:
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Random House Inc
ISBN-10: 1400052173
ISBN-13: 9781400052172
Sku: 211298075
Publish Date: 2/2/2010
Dimensions:
(in Inches) 10H x 6.5L x 1.5T
Pages:
369
See more in Medical
| Skloot brilliantly weaves together the story of Henrietta Lacks--a woman whose cells have been unwittingly used for scientific research since the 1950s--with the birth of bioethics, and the dark history of experimentation on African Americans. |
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From the Publisher:
Documents the story of how scientists took cells from an unsuspecting descendant of freed slaves and created a human cell line that has been kept alive indefinitely, enabling discoveries in such areas as cancer research, in vitro fertilization and gene mapping. |
Annotation:
When Henrietta Lacks, a poor African-American tobacco field worker, died from cancer in 1951, she was buried in an unmarked grave. Unbeknownst to her family, doctors had harvested tissue samples from her body without permission. These cells would become the remarkable HeLa cells--the first human cells reproduced in a laboratory--and would be used for scientific research on cancer cures, radiation therapy, gene mapping, and AIDS. Millions of tons of HeLa cells have been created over the decades, all part of a billion dollar medical market--a harsh irony to some of Lacks's children who cannot afford health insurance. THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS is more than just an astonishing scientific story; it is also the history of the practice of unethical medical testing on African-Americans. Journalist Rebecca Skloot wonderfully brings to life the strange intersections of science, politics, and social justice. Selected by Publishers Weekly as a 2010 Top 10 Book and by the New York Times Book Review as a Notable Book of 2010.
When Henrietta Lacks, a poor African-American tobacco field worker, died from cancer in 1951, she was buried in an unmarked grave. Unbeknownst to her family, doctors had harvested tissue samples from her body without permission. These cells would become the remarkable HeLa cells--the first human cells reproduced in a laboratory--and would be used for scientific research on cancer cures, radiation therapy, gene mapping, and AIDS. Millions of tons of HeLa cells have been created over the decades, all part of a billion dollar medical market--a harsh irony to some of Lacks's children who cannot afford health insurance. THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS is more than just an astonishing scientific story; it is also the history of the practice of unethical medical testing on African-Americans. Journalist Rebecca Skloot wonderfully brings to life the strange intersections of science, politics, and social justice. Selected by Publishers Weekly as a 2010 Top 10 Book and by the New York Times Book Review as a Notable Book of 2010.
Praise
"[A] remarkable debut....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." (starred review)
09/28/2009
"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." (starred review)
- Donna Seaman
12/01/2009
"THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS is a fascinating read and a ringing success. It is a well-written, carefully-researched, complex saga of medical research, bioethics, and race in America. Above all it is a human story of redemption for a family, torn by loss, and for a writer with a vision that would not let go."
- Douglas Whynott
01/31/2010
"IMMORTAL LIFE reads like a novel. The prose is unadorned, crisp and transparent....This book, labeled 'science -- cultural studies,' should be treated as a work of American history. It's a deftly crafted investigation of a social wrong committed by the medical establishment, as well as the scientific and medical miracles to which it led. Skloot's compassionate account can be the first step toward recognition, justice and healing."
- Eric Roston
01/31/2010
"Science writing is often just about 'the facts.' Skloot's book, her first, is far deeper, braver and more wonderful....Skloot narrates the science lucidly, tracks the racial politics of medicine thoughtfully and tells the Lacks family's often painful history with grace."
- Lisa Margonelli
02/07/2010
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