Captivating Blend of Science, Ethics, and Family Storytelling in 'The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks'

I really enjoyed this book. It had the perfect mix of technical information and storytelling that really pulls a reader in. I highly recommend reading this to better understand medical ethics.

I ordered this book for one my college classes. it blew me away. i am typically not a big fan of nonfiction books but reading this one felt like reading a story. the details you get while reading are CRAZY. I loved seeing how doctorate practices have changed over the years.

I read this for book club this month. The story is well written and flowed well keeping me interested despite my having zero interest in cell biology. It's an important story and I recommend the book if only to understand the entire international biopharmaceutical industry that wants to tell us how much money they deserve to make us pay for each of their "advances" is actually based on nazi-like studies that are an abomination to humanity and the outright theft of people's personal DNA. I would give the book a 5 star rating for the writing and research that went into creating it but I knocked off a star as a warning that this printing quality is done on VERY delicate paper that basically tore when a post it was applied and taken off the page (and it was a name brand "post it" sticker -- so not that sticky -- and this happened on several pages). Just a warning that if you like to use sticky notes to remind you of talking points in book clubs, this printed version will make that a challenge.

Loved the book!! I’d highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about what is happening in research and genetics today plus it’s a great human interest book.

As someone who loves science it was such a powerful and moving story to learn about such an important person and her descendants. While there are heart breaking moments, the author does an amazing job weaving the different stories together to convey the science and people behind it. Everyone in medicine should read this!!!

Rebecca Skloot did a wonderful job on this - her debut work. I was angry, intrigued, heartbroken, and in awe throughout the story. This was a page turner. I was impressed by the way the book is formatted and organized with a timeline at the beginning of each chapter and helpful resources at the end. It was an excellent read. Eye opening. Hats off to Rebecca Skloot. I'm thankful to her for her uncompromising dedication to completing this book. A reality check for me personally. Definitely keeping this book for my collection.