I didn't think that this book was "all that." I enjoyed it--don't get me wrong. I also recommend it. But I'm having a difficult time wrapping my head around why Amazon.com picked "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot as its No. 1 book of 2010.
The book is partly a detective story, partly a science book and partly a human interest story. Skloot does a fine job of intertwining the different aspects.
Henrietta Lacks died in 1951 from ovarian cancer. Prior to her death, some of her cancer cells were harvested for research. Ms. Lacks' cells proved to be miraculously productive--or "immortal"--and were instrumental in aiding in medical discoveries from the cure of polio to treatments for AIDS. The so-called "HeLa" cells are still used today in medical research.
As was customary in the 1950s, her cells were taken without Ms. Lacks' knowledge. In addition, virtually nothing was known about the cell donor by anyone who experimented using the cells. The cells were essentially harvested anonymously.
Ms. Skloot proved to be fascinated by the story and spent many years learning about Ms. Lacks and her family. "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" essentially takes the reader through Ms. Skloot's investigation as she first discovers the history of the cell line and, once she identified Ms. Lacks as the donor, gradually earns the trust of Ms. Lacks' living family to learn about her. At the same time, Ms. Skloot relates Ms. Lacks' history that she learns. Ms. Skloot also spends a great deal of time on the science, discussing the ethical and other issues involved in harvesting cells for research as well as the history of the HeLa cells.
Again, I do recommend "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks." It is a fascinating story. As far as books that came out this year, though, I have a difficult time putting it in the same class as, for example, "Matterhorn" (which showed up as No. 3 on Amazon's list).
Live long, read and prosper. We'll leave the lights on for you.
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Skloot does a geat job capturing the person and family behind HeLa cells. She also explains the science parts very simple and to the point so you don't need to be a science expert to understand and appreciate this book.
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