The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

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I'm not going to write as much about this book as I do about other books, but that doesn't make it any less amazing or enthralling. Henrietta Lacks was an African American woman living in Baltimore City, Maryland. She developed cervical cancer and died soon afterwords, but her cancer cells became the first "immortal" cells.

I first heard about this book from my honors biology teacher last year when we were going over genetics. The whole topic had interested me, so I thought that this book would most likely be very interesting as well.

I was right. It tells about the story of the woman behind this amazing breakthrough; the unknown person who helped scientists and doctors develop so many of today's life-saving cures. It was amazing, knowing what her cells had led to and hearing her family's story.

If you're interested in genetics or biology, this book would be interesting. It doesn't say too much about exactly what her cells led to, but I believe that learning about the history of the woman behind HeLa is just as interesting as learning what her cells led to.