Holy cow! EVERYONE needs to read this book! Henrietta Lacks is the origin of the HeLa cells, which are the first immortal human cell line cultured, and the research done on them has touched every single one of you in some way. They lead the way for creation of the polio vaccine. They are the reason we figured out that HPV causes cervical cancer (exactly what happened to Henrietta). They caused the biggest scientific set back ever when they contaminated lots of other cell lines. Yet, despite all this, Henrietta's family didn't even know about it until decades later, was never monetarily compensated, and I would imagine that none of her children ever even understood/understand what any of it means.
This book is a fascinating look into the history of cell culture, consent and the terrifying experiments burdened by the poor that are only now coming to light.
A book like this, spanning so much time, so many places and such a broad range of characters, I thought would be boring or at least difficult to follow. It is neither. It is fun and fascinating and frustrating, all at once. I may be showing my nerd side a little too much here, but I really thing you should read it.
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