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Mar 28, 2017
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a wonderful book, especially to those who are interested in science or in the field. The story is written like a novel and goes throughout many years, from the 1950s all the way to the date of publication. The book is about Henrietta Lacks, the supposed “donor” of the popular cell line HeLa which is credited to many advances in science. It starts with many forks of the story path: one following Henrietta, another the scientists, and the other following the author, Rebecca, as she tries to research. The story can sometimes be a difficult read for the faint of heart -- there are certainly points where it is quite disturbing. The book raises many questions regarding ethics in the field of science but also how it has changed over time. The research into the science was wonderful, all sides of the story are properly covered leaving the reader to decide any conclusions. Race relations also play a role. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks does a great job of fleshing out every single person, bringing out the human quality, and that makes it difficult demonize any person or the sides to the issue as a whole. In general, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks has wonderful writing, is a joy to read, and is a perfect window into the multifaceted issues regarding the HeLa cells. I would highly recommend The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.