All I knew of this book is that it was a bestseller and on a bunch of book club lists for awhile. What I found out was that Henrietta Lacks was a poor, African-American woman who had cancer. When "treated" at Johns Hopkins, some of her cells were removed for testing, and they proved to be key to several medical breakthroughs. All of this was done without Henrietta or her family's knowledge, and really brings to light a great deal of questions about medical ethics and cell 'ownership.' It was a pretty sad story- after all, even though her cells are currently sold to science all over the world, and helped cure polio and led to cancer breakthroughs, Henrietta lies in an unmarked grave and her descendants live in poverty. There is a great deal of science in this book, as well as occasionally maddening interviews, but non-fiction readers and fans of human interest stories might find this worthwhile.
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