What an amazing book!

I had never read anything like this so far. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks somehow manages to be, at the same time:

• a riveting popular science book about HeLa cells,


• a moving account of Henrietta Lacks's and her family's story,


• an earnest history book that masterfully covers both the story of racial segregation and medical research ethics in 20th century America,


• and finally, a beautiful account of the author's own journey, from her obsession with finding what or rather who "HeLa" standed for when she first encoutered HeLa cells, to becoming a part of Henrietta Lack's story.

The book is beautifully written, absolutely amazing, sets a new standard for the genre (or even a new genre altogether?), and if you don't read it now, you're missing out :p