The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

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  • 4.2 (40 ratings) ·
  • 400 Want to read
  • 29 Currently reading
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Last edited by ImportBot
December 20, 2023 | History

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

  • 4.2 (40 ratings) ·
  • 400 Want to read
  • 29 Currently reading
  • 65 Have read

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, yes 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.
(back cover)

Publish Date
Language
English
Pages
381

Buy this book

Previews available in: English

Edition Availability
Cover of: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
2011, Broadway Paperbacks
Paperback in English
Cover of: The immortal life of Henriette Lacks
The immortal life of Henriette Lacks
2010, Thorndike Press
in English - Large print ed.
Cover of: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Jun 07, 2010, Crown
hardcover
Cover of: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
2009, Crown Publishers
in English
Cover of: The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks
The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks
2009, Crown Publishers
in English
Cover of: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks [Paperback] [Jan 07, 2011] Rebecca Skloot
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks [Paperback] [Jan 07, 2011] Rebecca Skloot
Publish date unknown, PAN MACMILLAN U.K
paperback

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Book Details


Edition Notes

Includes bibliographical references and index.
US/Canada edition

Published in
New York, USA
Genre
Biography
Copyright Date
2011

Classifications

Dewey Decimal Class
616/.02774092, B
Library of Congress
RC265.6.L24 S55 2009, RC265.6.L24 S55 2011, RC265.6.L24S55 2011

The Physical Object

Format
Paperback
Number of pages
381

ID Numbers

Open Library
OL23962107M
ISBN 10
1400052181
ISBN 13
9781400052189
LCCN
2009031785, 2011288016
Paperback Swap
1400052181
Amazon ID (ASIN)
1400052181
Goodreads
9571617

Work Description

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, in vitro fertilization, 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 New York Times bestseller takes readers on an extraordinary journey, from the “colored” ward of Johns Hopkins Hospital in the 1950s to stark white laboratories with freezers filled with HeLa cells, from Henrietta’s small, dying hometown of Clover, Virginia, to East Baltimore today, where her children and grandchildren live and struggle with the legacy of her cells. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks 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. It’s a story inextricably connected to the dark history of experimentation on African Americans, the birth of bioethics, and the legal battles over whether we control the stuff we’re made of.
(source)

Excerpts

There's a photo on my wall of a woman I've never met, its left corner torn and patched together with tape.
added by Lisa.

first sentence

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History

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December 20, 2023 Edited by ImportBot import existing book
December 12, 2022 Edited by MARC Bot import existing book
November 11, 2022 Edited by MARC Bot import existing book
January 26, 2022 Edited by ImportBot import existing book
December 11, 2009 Created by WorkBot add works page