What readers think of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, plus links to write your own review.

The author spent much time and exhaustive effort to put together a true story that at times moves along like fiction, and presented characters that had me totally engaged. I loved how the science was told with detail that would satisfy professionals and then told again "in plain English" for readers like me so that I could understand the importance of Henrietta Lacks' part in cell research. Rebecca Skloot holds nothing back--except her own occasional skepticism. This book is not to be missed!

This book was read with enthusiasm from start to finish. The author brilliantly, yet informally, used family memories, historical documents, pictures, medical professional interviews, and her own interpretations to bring into light the actual life of Henrietta Lacks. The story revolves around the fact that cell were taken from her cancer tumor without her knowledge or consent and grown in culture. After her death, these cells were used for scientific discovery and still remain "alive". The effect of this story on her family is remarkably told. On a research subject advocate viewpoint, the 31 year old woman was subjected to unethical use of her body tissues, the multimillion dollar business profited from the selling of the HeLa line, and the Lack family never say a penny (let alone knew of the "immortality" of her family member). On scientific review, these cells enabled informational discoveries for the US medical community for the betterment of society. This story is a must read!

This book is an excellent read. The author does a wonderful job of balancing respect for the people involved with explanations of the science and medicine involved. Highly recommend.

Reads like a novel, couldn't put it down...EXCELLENT

The research Rebecca Skloot did for this book is an unimaginable amount. I do wish that she had taken more time organizing the book. It is quite jumpy for a nonfiction with a lot of useless comments. A lot of very good ethical issues are brought up with this book as well. My opinion: This book wasn't worth my time.