Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells—taken without her knowledge in 1951—became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, and more. Henrietta's cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she remains virtually unknown, and her family can't afford health insurance. This phenomenal New York Times bestseller tells a riveting story of the collision between ethics, race, and medicine; of scientific discovery and faith healing; and of a daughter consumed with questions about the mother she never knew.
1 comment:
I loved this book. I learned more in this book than I have in a lot of others. Even though I felt that the science sometimes was over my head I still enjoyed it. I was saddened by the treatment of the family; however, it is nice to know that shouldn't happening again. Talked with my brother-in-law who is a high school science teacher and he was very aware of HeLa cells and now I am too.
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