Saturday, December 24, 2011

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

I think this book is worth reading just to be informed of such a huge part of medical history--an event that I personally had never even heard of. Its implications seem significant, and for that reason, I'd recommend this to anyone. The author has clearly done extensive research, and reading this book makes you feel like you're getting the most accurate information available on the matter. The issues presented are worthwhile. For instance, I work with computer research. A hot topic right now is individuals' rights to protecting and withholding their electronic and virtual data. If we have a right to that, I can only imagine that such discussion was completely inspired by Henrietta Lacks, even if indirectly.

The book really felt like it had two parts. The first half focuses a lot on history and feels informative. The second half talks more about Henrietta's family and paints a beautiful picture of real people and their struggle to understand what was going on in a sophisticated area when they had little education. I really enjoyed both aspects.

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