{"product_id":"the-immortal-life-of-henrietta-lacks-by-rebecca-skloot","title":"The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e#1\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003eBESTSELLER - \"The story of modern medicine and bioethics--and, indeed, race relations--is refracted beautifully, and movingly.\"--\u003ci\u003eEntertainment Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE FROM HBO(R) STARRING OPRAH WINFREY AND ROSE BYRNE - ONE OF THE \"MOST INFLUENTIAL\" (CNN), \"DEFINING\" (\u003ci\u003eLITHUB\u003c\/i\u003e), AND \"BEST\" (\u003ci\u003eTHE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER\u003c\/i\u003e) BOOKS OF THE DECADE - ONE OF\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eESSENCE\u003c\/i\u003e'S 50 MOST IMPACTFUL BLACK BOOKS OF THE PAST 50 YEARS - WINNER OF THE\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eCHICAGO TRIBUNE\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003eHEARTLAND PRIZE FOR NONFICTION - A\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eKIRKUS REVIEWS\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003eBEST NONFICTION BOOK OF THE CENTURY\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review, Entertainment Weekly, O: The Oprah Magazine,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003eNPR,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eFinancial Times, New York, Independent\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e(U.K.),\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eTimes\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e(U.K.),\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly, Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, Globe and Mail\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHer name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells--taken without her knowledge--became one of the most important tools in medicine: The first \"immortal\" human cells grown in culture, which are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb's effects; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eYet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHenrietta's family did not learn of her \"immortality\" until more than twenty years after her death, when scientists investigating HeLa began using her husband and children in research without informed consent. And though the cells had launched a multimillion-dollar industry that sells human biological materials, her family never saw any of the profits. As Rebecca Skloot so brilliantly shows, the story of the Lacks family--past and present--is inextricably connected to the dark history of experimentation on African Americans, the birth of bioethics, and the legal battles over whether we control the stuff we are made of.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOver the decade it took to uncover this story, Rebecca became enmeshed in the lives of the Lacks family--especially Henrietta's daughter Deborah. Deborah was consumed with questions: Had scientists cloned her mother? Had they killed her to harvest her cells? And if her mother was so important to medicine, why couldn't her children afford health insurance?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIntimate in feeling, astonishing in scope, and impossible to put down, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e captures the beauty and drama of scientific discovery, as well as its human consequences.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTable of Contents\u003cspan\u003e:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA Few Words About This Book -- Prologue: The Woman in the Photograph -- Deborah's Voice -- Part 1. Life -- 1. The Exam ... 1951 -- 2. Clover ... 1920-1942 -- 3. Diagnosis and Treatment ... 1951 -- 4. The Birth of HeLa ... 1951 -- 5. Blackness Be Spreadin All Inside ... 1951 -- 6. Lady's on the Phone ... 1999 -- 7. The Death and Life of Cell Culture ... 1951 -- 8. A Miserable Specimen ... 1951 -- 9. Turner Station ... 1999 -- 10. The Other Side of the Tracks ... 1999 -- 11. The Devil of Pain Itself ... 1951 -- Part 2. Death -- 12. The Storm ... 1951 -- 13. The HeLa Factory ... 1951-1953 -- 14. Helen Lane ... 1953-1954 -- 15. Too Young to Remember ... 1951-1965 -- 16. Spending Eternity in the Same Place ... 1999 -- 17. Illegal, Immoral, and Deplorable ... 1954-1966 -- 18. Strangest Hybrid ... 1960-1966 -- 19. The Most Critical Time on This Earth Is Now ... 1966-1973 -- 20. The HeLa Bomb ... 1966 -- 21. Night Doctors ... 2000 -- 22. The Fame She So Richly Deserves ... 1970-1973 -- Part 3. Immortality -- 23. It's Alive ... 1973-1974 -- 24. Least They Can Do ... 1975 -- 25. Who Told You You Could Sell My Spleen? ... 1976-1988 -- 26. Breach of Privacy ... 1980-1985 -- 27. The Secret of Immortality ... 1984-1995 -- 28. After London ... 1996-1999 -- 29. A Village of Henriettas ... 2000 -- 30. Zakariyya ... 2000 -- 31. Hela, Goddess of Death ... 2000-2001 -- 32. All That's My Mother ... 2001 -- 33. The Hospital for the Negro Insane ... 2001 -- 34. The Medical Records ... 2001 -- 35. Soul Cleansing ... 2001 -- 36. Heavenly Bodies ... 2001 -- 37. Nothing to Be Scared About ... 2001 -- 38. The Long Road to Clover ... 2009 -- Where They Are Now -- About the Henrietta Lacks Foundation -- Afterword -- Cast of Characters -- Timeline -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- Index -- Reading Group Guide.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"Skloot's vivid account begins with the life of Henrietta Lacks, who comes fully alive on the page. . . . \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eImmortal Life\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e reads like a novel.\" \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e--\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"Gripping . . . by turns heartbreaking, funny and unsettling . . . raises troubling questions about the way Mrs. Lacks and her family were treated by researchers and about whether patients should control or have financial claims on tissue removed from their bodies.\" \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\" \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is a fascinating read and a ringing success. It is a well-written, carefully-researched, complex saga of medical research, bioethics, and race in America. Above all it is a human story of redemption for a family, torn by loss, and for a writer with a vision that would not let go.\" \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eThe Boston Globe\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"Riveting . . . raises important questions about medical ethics . . . It's an amazing story. . . . Deeply chilling . . . Whether those uncountable HeLa cells are a miracle or a violation, Skloot tells their fascinating story at last with skill, insight and compassion.\" \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e--Colette Bancroft,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eSt. Petersburg\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eTimes\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"The history of HeLa is a rare and powerful combination of race, class, gender, medicine, bioethics, and intellectual property; far more rare is the writer than can so clearly fuse those disparate threads into a personal story so rich and compelling. Rebecca Skloot has crafted a unique piece of science journalism that is impossible to put down--or to forget.\" \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eSeed\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003emagazine\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"The issues evoked here are giant: who owns our bodies, the use and misuse of medical authority, the unhealed wounds of slavery . . . and Skloot, with clarity and compassion, helps us take the long view. This is exactly the sort of story that books were made to tell--thorough, detailed, quietly passionate, and full of revelation.\" \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e--Ted Conover, author of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eNewjack\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eand\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Routes of Man\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"It's extremely rare when a reporter's passion finds its match in a story. Rarer still when the people in that story courageously join that reporter in the search for what we most need to know about ourselves. This is an extraordinary gift of a book, beautiful and devastating--a work of outstanding literary reportage.\" \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e--Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, author of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eRandom Family\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\"The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e brings to mind the work of Philip K. Dick and Edgar Allan Poe. But this tale is true. This is an extraordinary book, haunting and beautifully told.\" \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e--Eric Schlosser, author of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eFast Food Nation\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"Writing with a novelist's artistry, a biologist's expertise, and the zeal of an investigative reporter, Skloot tells a truly astonishing story of racism and poverty, science and conscience, spirituality and family driven by a galvanizing inquiry into the sanctity of the body and the very nature of the life force.\" \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eBooklist,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003estarred review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"A rich, resonant tale of modern science, the wonders it can perform and how easily it can exploit society's most vulnerable people.\" \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003estarred review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eREBECCA SKLOOT\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is an award-winning science writer whose work has appeared in \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Magazine; O, The Oprah Magazine; Discover;\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and many others. She is coeditor of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Best American Science Writing 2011\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003eand has worked as a correspondent for NPR's \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eRadiolab\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003eand PBS's Nova \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eScienceNOW\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. She was named one of five surprising leaders of 2010 by the\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. Skloot's debut book, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003etook more than a decade to research and write, and instantly became a \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003ebestseller. It was chosen as a best book of 2010 by more than sixty media outlets, including \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eEntertainment Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003ePeople\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, and the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. It is being translated into more than twenty-five languages, adapted into a young reader edition, and being made into an HBO film produced by Oprah Winfrey and Alan Ball. Skloot is the founder and president of The Henrietta Lacks Foundation. She has a B.S. in biological sciences and an MFA in creative nonfiction. She has taught creative writing and science journalism at the University of Memphis, the University of Pittsburgh, and New York University. She lives in Chicago. For more information, visit her website at RebeccaSkloot.com, where you'll find links to follow her on Twitter and Facebook.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCrown Publishing Group (NY)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePub Date: \u003cspan\u003eMarch 08, 2011\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e1.15\" H x 8.0\" L x 5.25\" W\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e400 pages\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003epaperback\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45221627560122,"sku":"9781400052189","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0444\/2213\/5968\/files\/81coyP8S-ZL._SL1500.jpg?v=1768797861","url":"https:\/\/naturenurture.shop\/products\/the-immortal-life-of-henrietta-lacks-by-rebecca-skloot","provider":"nature+nurture","version":"1.0","type":"link"}