{"product_id":"the-immortal-life-of-henrietta-lacks-9781400052189","title":"The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks","description":"\u003cb\u003e#1 \u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES \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 \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\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 \u003ci\u003eESSENCE\u003c\/i\u003e'S 50 MOST IMPACTFUL BLACK BOOKS OF THE PAST 50 YEARS - WINNER OF THE \u003ci\u003eCHICAGO TRIBUNE \u003c\/i\u003eHEARTLAND PRIZE FOR NONFICTION - A \u003ci\u003eKIRKUS REVIEWS \u003c\/i\u003eBEST NONFICTION BOOK OF THE CENTURY\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eA BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review, Entertainment Weekly, O: The Oprah Magazine, \u003c\/i\u003eNPR, \u003ci\u003eFinancial Times, New York, Independent \u003c\/i\u003e(U.K.), \u003ci\u003eTimes \u003c\/i\u003e(U.K.), \u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly, Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, Globe and Mail\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eYet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\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? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIntimate in feeling, astonishing in scope, and impossible to put down, \u003ci\u003eThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks\u003c\/i\u003e captures the beauty and drama of scientific discovery, as well as its human consequences.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eREBECCA SKLOOT\u003c\/b\u003e is an award-winning science writer whose work has appeared in \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Magazine; O, The Oprah Magazine; Discover;\u003c\/i\u003e and many others. She is coeditor of \u003ci\u003eThe Best American Science Writing 2011 \u003c\/i\u003eand has worked as a correspondent for NPR's \u003ci\u003eRadiolab \u003c\/i\u003eand PBS's Nova \u003ci\u003eScienceNOW\u003c\/i\u003e. She was named one of five surprising leaders of 2010 by the\u003ci\u003e Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e. Skloot's debut book, \u003ci\u003eThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, \u003c\/i\u003e took more than a decade to research and write, and instantly became a \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestseller. It was chosen as a best book of 2010 by more than sixty media outlets, including \u003ci\u003eEntertainment Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e People\u003c\/i\u003e, and the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\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\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Crown Publishing Group (NY)","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51206651117842,"sku":"9781400052189","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_93bd089e-75cf-42c1-ac23-b4bcb4b85e27.jpg?v=1748592719","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-immortal-life-of-henrietta-lacks-9781400052189","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}