Henrietta Lacks was an African-American woman who died of cervical cancer in 1951, but her cells are still alive today - which is why she is said to be immortal. Her cells have been used in all sorts of medical research experiments, for example in developing a vaccine for polio. But the important thing about this book is that the woman who should have been the hero had been completely forgotten. No one asked permission to take her cells. No one consulted her family. A journalist called Rebecca Skloot researched the story and the book is in part her own story she traced Henrietta Lacks's family. You should read this if you are interested in Medicine or medical research. Not only does it contain useful scientific details but the searing investigation of medical ethics and racial justice is essential reading.
