Author: Rebecca Skloot
The number of positive reviews for this book just kept climbing and it caught my attention several times. I would put it in my cart on Amazon, then read the synopsis and my desire to read this book would slip away. It did not seem particularly intriguing to me, that cells from a Black Woman, taken without her consent ended up being responsible for one of the most important discoveries in the fight against cancer. Furthermore, before I read the book, I did not have any particular sympathy for Henrietta's relatives laying claim to some of the huge profits that undoubtedly would not have been possible without her cells.
Finally, I succumbed to all the positive reviews that this book was receiving and clicked on the "Order" button. In hindsight, this was a very good choice and it proved to me once again that close to a thousand reviewers on Amazon cannot be taken lightly.
The book is about how the "HeLa" cells came to be and how they have changed the world of medicine. In case you haven't figure it out yet, their origin is from Henrietta Lacks, a poor black southern tobacco farmer who died in 1951 of cervical cancer. Rebecca Skloot took more than 10 years to research and write the book and I am still puzzled by how in this day of google and wikipedia anything can take so long! However, judging by the success of the book, Ms. Skloot's time was well spent and she certainly has done a fabulous job of educating us and entertaining us in the 400 odd pages on this subject. She brings out the tenacity of the HeLa cells and how they were pivotal in many of the modern medical discoveries. She also delves into the secretive behavior of the Lacks family and some of the unfortunate events that have transpired in their lives. This book is a must-read for anyone who has an interest in the medical sciences.
The number of positive reviews for this book just kept climbing and it caught my attention several times. I would put it in my cart on Amazon, then read the synopsis and my desire to read this book would slip away. It did not seem particularly intriguing to me, that cells from a Black Woman, taken without her consent ended up being responsible for one of the most important discoveries in the fight against cancer. Furthermore, before I read the book, I did not have any particular sympathy for Henrietta's relatives laying claim to some of the huge profits that undoubtedly would not have been possible without her cells.
Finally, I succumbed to all the positive reviews that this book was receiving and clicked on the "Order" button. In hindsight, this was a very good choice and it proved to me once again that close to a thousand reviewers on Amazon cannot be taken lightly.
The book is about how the "HeLa" cells came to be and how they have changed the world of medicine. In case you haven't figure it out yet, their origin is from Henrietta Lacks, a poor black southern tobacco farmer who died in 1951 of cervical cancer. Rebecca Skloot took more than 10 years to research and write the book and I am still puzzled by how in this day of google and wikipedia anything can take so long! However, judging by the success of the book, Ms. Skloot's time was well spent and she certainly has done a fabulous job of educating us and entertaining us in the 400 odd pages on this subject. She brings out the tenacity of the HeLa cells and how they were pivotal in many of the modern medical discoveries. She also delves into the secretive behavior of the Lacks family and some of the unfortunate events that have transpired in their lives. This book is a must-read for anyone who has an interest in the medical sciences.
No comments:
Post a Comment