The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot is a recent work of non-fiction about a family's discovery that the mother's tissue was used without her knowledge to help save lives. Meanwhile, the family was living in poverty.
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Please post a comment about the book and if it would be suitable for the SJSU Campus Reading Program. Thanks.
3 comments:
This is a fascinating work of nonfiction from the NYT bestseller list. it will be out in paperback in March 2011, and including notes and index, runs to 370 pages (although the Afterword is over by p. 328). It certainly reaches across the disciplines, as it touches on the history of science, ethics, and the African American experience in 20th century America.
It is two tales combined in one: the history and significance of HeLa cells in using human tissue for scientific advancement, and the life story of Henrietta Lacks, the unheralded African American woman in Baltimore who contributed the first of these cells unknowingly, as she died from cancer in her 30s, leaving a struggling family behind. It is the story of how and why those cells went on to change life on this planet in some significant ways, while making some people and companies incredibly wealthy. It is also the story of what happened to Henrietta's family, and what effect the prominence of HeLa cells in scientific experimentation had on their lives.
It is written in a compelling manner, with timeline markers at the start of each chapter to help contextualize the reader, as the story jumps around in time and space. Those who already read and have some interest in science will particularly enjoy this book. I have some concerns that it might be a bit much to expect for summer reading from some of our targeted incoming frosh, as it is not just a fictional tale with an exciting plot. Still, the writing is clear and such blending of culture studies and science is commendable integration, modeling the sort of integrative learning to which we aspire.
I read the first 150 pages in one night and finished the whole thing in 3 days. Fascinating! The story was heartfelt and engaging and the science aspects were well researched and clearly explained. So many topics and themes are discussed from race and socio-economic classes to bio-ethics, the right to health care, the importance of education, informed consent, capitalism, religion, family dynamics, overcoming obstacles, privilege...I could go on and on. Great discussions and programs could come from this book!
This is a great choice for a campus book since it covers so many issues; IRB approval, ethnics in human subjects research, racism and black myth (the wonderful chapter on Night Doctors snatching African-Americans for research at Hopkins), the beginnings of the Human Genome Project, privacy violation, hybrid research, cell contamination, etc. It was shocking to hear of the laxity used with human subjects before rules and regulations for research with human subjects was developed and Southam's injections of prisoners with HeLa cells in the 1950s. The possibilities for discussion are endless. It would fit into not only the obvious discipline of science but also be a nice selection for history and culture classes.
I like the juxtaposition of the story of Henrietta Lack's family with the story of how HeLa cells were used in medical research.
My concerns with this as a campus reading selection is the length and its appeal to freshmen and students who don't read regularly. The Art of Racing in the Rain will probably pull more students in as readers than this book. I also found the skipping around between people and time periods a little distracting. This is a compelling book which would be a very respectable choice.
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