Science writer rebecca skloot has always been obsessed with henrietta lacks, the africanamerican woman whose cancer cells were harvested and used to create an immortal cell line for scientific experimentation. The immortal life of henrietta lacks, like many compelling works of nonfiction, was written to tell one story, but, in its creation, uncovered several others. Because there isnt much information about henrietta and her family, skloot wants to tell their story. Rebecca skloot uses royalties from her best seller, the immortal life of henrietta lacks, to help the descendants of the book s subject. Yet her cells taken without her knowledge became one of the most important tools in medical research. From the 2010 virginia festival of the book in charlottesville, virginia, rebecca skloot discussed her book, the immortal life of henrietta lacks. The remarkably story of henriettas life, cells and family are now coming to light, narrated in an equally remarkable book rebecca skloots the immortal life of henrietta lacks. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cellstaken without her knowledge in 1951became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, in vitro fertilization, and more. The immortal life of henrietta lacks by rebecca skloot paperback. Were genetically promiscuouswe mate with anyone we chooseand we dont take kindly to scientists telling us who we should reproduce with.
Apr 21, 2017 the original hbo movie the immortal life of henrietta lacks, based on the nonfiction book by journalist rebecca skloot and starring oprah winfrey as deborah lacks, henriettas youngest daughter. It is available to watch on hbo or via online streaming on hbo now, where anyone can watch it for free by signing up for a free 30 day trial. The immortal life of henrietta lacks johns hopkins medicine. This is an extraordinary book, haunting and beautifully told. Henrietta lacks was a woman who unknowingly donated her cells here at hopkins in 1951, beginning what was the. In 2010, rebecca skloot published the immortal life of henrietta lacks, a compelling look at henrietta lacks story, her impact on medical science, and important bioethical issues. It was chosen as a best book of 2010 by more than sixty media outlets, including entertainment weekly, people, and the new york times. Rebecca skloot untangles the ethical issues in the case of a woman whose cancer cells have been the basis for a vast amount of research. The immortal life of henrietta lacks summary gradesaver. Im telling you, i lived here in the fifties when they got henrietta, and we werent allowed to go anywhere near hopkins. Rebecca skloot in the immortal life of henrietta lacks shmoop. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 370 pages and is available in hardcover format.
The immortal life of henrietta lacks is a nonfiction book by american author rebecca skloot. Feb 02, 2010 skloots debut book, the immortal life of henrietta lacks, took more than a decade to research and write, and instantly became a new york times bestseller. The immortal life of henrietta lacks, rebecca skloot the immortal life of henrietta lacks 2010 is a nonfiction book by american author rebecca skloot. The immortal life of henrietta lacks by rebecca skloot. Jan 26, 2010 the remarkably story of henriettas life, cells and family are now coming to light, narrated in an equally remarkable book rebecca skloots the immortal life of henrietta lacks. The immortal life of henrietta lacks book by rebecca skloot. Feb 05, 2011 rebecca skloot uses royalties from her best seller, the immortal life of henrietta lacks, to help the descendants of the book s subject. The immortal life of henrietta lacks ebook written by rebecca skloot. The immortal life of henrietta lacks author rebecca skloot, april 2017. The main characters of this non fiction, science story are henrietta lacks. The immortal life of henrietta lacks by skloot, rebecca ebook. Known to science as hela, the first immortal human cells grown in culture are still alive today, and have been bought and sold by the millions.
Rebecca skloot, quote from the immortal life of henrietta lacks genetically speaking, humans are terrible research subjects. She was a poor southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors. Rebecca skloot random house inc new york, new york, usa. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the immortal life of henrietta lacks. Mar 08, 2011 skloots debut book, the immortal life of henrietta lacks, took more than a decade to research and write, and instantly became a new york times bestseller. In the immortal life of henrietta lacks ilhl, skloot blends the lacks family history with that of medical sciences and all against a backdrop of systemic racism. The immortal life of henrietta lacks by skloot, rebecca. The immortal life of henrietta lacks by rebecca skloot plot. The author of the book, science reporter rebecca skloot, spent 10 years researching henrietta lacks, her family, and the scientific advances her indefatigable cells made possible. Rebecca skloot explores the racism and greed, the idealism and faith in science that helped to save thousands of lives but nearly destroyed a family. Rebecca explains that hela made possible some of the most important discoveries of the 21st century, but that we know. Buy the immortal life of henrietta lacks first paperback edition by skloot, rebecca isbn.
Her name was henrietta lacks, but scientists know her as hela. The immortal life of henrietta lacks movie tiein edition. And from that same life, and those cells, rebecca skloot has fashioned in the immortal life of henrietta lacks a fascinating and moving story of medicine and family, of how life is sustained in laboratories and in memory. The immortal life of henrietta lacks by rebecca skloot a lot has already been written about this book. Rebecca skloot and the immortal life of henrietta lacks. The original hbo movie the immortal life of henrietta lacks, based on the nonfiction book by journalist rebecca skloot and starring oprah winfrey as.
The immortal life of henrietta lacks by rebecca skloot goodreads. Entertainment weekly now a major motion picture from hbor starring oprah winfrey and rose byrne one of the most influential cnn, defining lithub, and best the philadelphia inquirer books of the. But from the moment she meets deborah, things change. Skloot is a veteran science journalist and firsttime author and her debut is thrilling and original nonfiction that refuses to be shoehorned into anything as. On the surface, rebecca skloots book is about a line of cells, extracted from a single cancer patient in the 1950s, that went on to be the most widely studied human cell line in the world. Review of the immortal life of henrietta lacks by rebecca. I assumed that a book on the subject of hela cells written for the.
Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. In this gripping, vibrant book, rebecca skloot looks beyond the scientific marvels to explore the ethical issues behind a discovery that may have saved your life. That book became the basis for the hboharpo film by the same name, which was released in april 2017. Pdf the immortal life of henrietta lacks book by rebecca. In the course of her reporting, skloot became close with deborah lacks, henrietta lackss daughter, and much of the immortal life of henrietta lacks is devoted to. The immortal life of henrietta lacks book summary by rebecca.
The immortal life of henrietta lacks paperback 1 jan 2011. The immortal life of henrietta lacks kindle edition by skloot, rebecca. It was the 2011 winner of the national academies communication award for best creative work that helps the public understanding of topics in science, engineering or medicine. The immortal life of henrietta lacks 2010 is a nonfiction book by american author rebecca skloot. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the immortal life of henrietta lacks. Digital rights management drm the publisher has supplied this book in encrypted form, which means that you need to install free software in order to unlock and read it. Free download or read online the immortal life of henrietta lacks pdf epub book. A journalist named rebecca skloot recounts learning about an african american woman named henrietta lacks, who died in 1951 of cervical cancer, but whose cancerous cells became the first immortal human cell line, called hela.
Entertainment weekly now a major motion picture from hbor starring oprah winfrey and rose byrne one of the most influential cnn, defining lithub, and best the philadelphia. And from my point of view, it stands up very well to all the attention it had received. She wanted it to be about the lacks family and their journey to learn about their mother and wife. The immortal life of henrietta lacks book summary by. Jan 24, 2011 the book thats been on everyones best of lists, including amazons best book of 2010, the immortal life of henrietta lacks by rebecca skloot, is intimate in feeling, astonishing in scope, and. Feb 09, 2010 in a wellpaced, vibrant narrative, popular science contributor and culture dish blogger skloot creative writinguniv. In the immortal life of henrietta lacks, rebecca skloot introduces us to the real live woman, the children who survived her, and the interplay of race, poverty, science and one of the most important medical discoveries of the last 100 years. Jan 01, 2011 the immortal life of henrietta lacks paperback 1 jan 2011. The author of the new york times bestseller discusses her landmark book. Published in 2010, science writer rebecca skloots the immortal life of henrietta lacks not only pieces together lackss life and legacy, but also depicts the confusion and betrayal her children experienced when they learned, in 1973, after decades spent out of the loop, that a part of their mother lived on. John lamparskiwireimage all i knew when i first called henriettas family was that hela cells were of the. Rebecca skloot journalist, teacher, author of the immortal life of henrietta lacks. Five starsit was hard to put down this compelling, admirable and eminently readable book.
In the immortal life of henrietta lacks, rebecca skloot introduces us to the real live woman, the children who survived her, and the interplay of race, poverty, science and one of the. Winner of several awards, including the 2010 chicago tribune heartland prize for nonfiction, the 2010 wellcome trust book. About the immortal life of henrietta lacks rebecca skloot. Henrietta lacks, a poor southern tobacco farmer, was buried in an unmarked grave 60 years ago. The director and cast discuss the immortal life of henrietta lacks, race, and george wolfes decision to make rebecca skloot, a white woman, a central character in the film. There isnt a person reading this who hasnt benefitted from henriettas cells, code named hela, which were taken without her knowledge in 1950. On her website, rebecca skloot tells readers that she never intended to wind up as a character in her book on henriettas life.
For decades, her cell line, named hela, has far eclipsed the woman of their origin. Henrietta lacks was a mother of five in baltimore, a poor african american migrant from the tobacco farms of virginia, who died from a cruelly aggressive cancer at the age of 30 in 1951. Hbos film adaptation of rebecca skloots book, the immortal life of henrietta lacks, starring oprah winfrey as deborah lacks, renee elise goldsberry as henrietta lacks, and rose byrne as rebecca skloot premiered on hbo in 2017. The immortal life of henrietta lacks summary shmoop. The immortal life of henrietta lacks tells the story of a poor tobacco farmer who died from cervical cancer, and her cell strand, hela, which scientists used to develop a cure for polio and other diseases.
Rebecca skloots bestselling book about the woman whose cells changed modern medicine is now an original film produced by hbo, starring. Feb 02, 2010 the immortal life of henrietta lacks ebook written by rebecca skloot. Skloots debut book, the immortal life of henrietta lacks, took more than a decade to research and write, and instantly became a new york times bestseller. Rebecca skloot in the immortal life of henrietta lacks. In a fascinating and revealing investigation, author rebecca skloot uncovers the history of henrietta and her family, of the exploitation of black americans by the medical industry, and of. But the immortal life of henrietta lacks succeeds despite itself. Rebecca explains that hela made possible some of the most important discoveries of the 21st century, but that we know little about the woman behind them. Rebecca skloot author of the immortal life of henrietta lacks. Rebecca skloot seeks to help henrietta lackss descendants. The immortal life of henrietta lacks brings to mind the work of philip k.
In one fascinating chapter of the immortal life, night doctors, rebecca skloot relates some of these urban legends, offering the testimony of a relative of henrietta lacks. The immortal life of henrietta lacks study guide contains a biography of rebecca skloot, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. In a wellpaced, vibrant narrative, popular science contributor and culture dish blogger skloot creative writinguniv. The immortal life of henrietta lacks is the astonishing biography of a poor. The first edition of the novel was published in february 2nd 2010, and was written by rebecca skloot. May 21, 2010 but the immortal life of henrietta lacks succeeds despite itself. Feb 07, 2010 in the immortal life of henrietta lacks, rebecca skloot introduces us to the real live woman, the children who survived her, and the interplay of race, poverty, science and one of the. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The immortal life of henrietta lacks rebecca skloot. The immortal life of henrietta lacks yonkers public schools. The immortal life of henrietta lacks, skloot, rebecca. The book thats been on everyones best of lists, including amazons best book of 2010, the immortal life of henrietta lacks by rebecca skloot, is intimate in.