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 . . .
Rebecca Skloot's fascinating account is the story of the life, and afterlife, of one woman who changed the medical world forever. 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.
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
ISBN: 9780330533447
Number of pages: 448
Weight: 328 g
Dimensions: 197 x 130 x 27 mm
Edition: Unabridged edition
When I first saw a poster advertising this book I assumed it was a new fiction paperback with an intriguing title, and I made a note to myself to find out more. What I found out didn't excite me - a true... More
This is a fascinating book, about an unknown black lady from America whose death from cancer changed the face of science. But it is more than that as well, Skloot's also looks at the history of cell research, the... More
This is a superb read that tells the story of Henrietta Lacks, her descendents and the cell line that was created from the cervical cancer that killed her. Skloot aims to show the reader every side of this complex,... More
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