jensjot's review against another edition
3.0
As a scientist myself, I was eager to find out more about the woman behind one of the biggest achievements in experimental biology. I learned about her name - and her famous cells - already at university. My instructors' ethics were apparently better developed than those of the generations before them, who largely chose to omit the origin of the cells they used in their labs.
Reading this book, I enjoyed learning more about Henrietta Lacks' life, her background and environment. I was also (surprisingly) intrigued by the history of cell culture, which is laid out in quite some detail in the book. Don't worry though: The language is very accessible to non-scientists. The author's thorough understanding of the underlying science helps make her explanations clear to everyone.
The sheer amount of research Rebecca Skloot did to find all the little (and bigger) pieces of information is incredible. The book's annex lists an impressive number of sources: archives and scientific publications next to first-hand reports from people who were involved with Henrietta Lacks or her cells.
At times, however, I did feel that the portrayal of the current situation of Henrietta Lacks' descendants was a tad more voyeuristic than would have been necessary. From reading some interviews with the author I understand why she chose to write the book the way she did, but in some chapters it distracted me from what was actually going on.
An additional star has to come off my final rating of this book for the German translation that I read. If you can, read the original English version of this book. In many instances the translator used outdated terms ("Vettern", "sein Mütchen kühlen"), which made me cringe while reading and killed the mood for me.
In addition, the author chose to quote her sources verbatim - in slang and sometimes "grammatically incorrect" phrases. This is another choice I understood, and I assume it works well in the original English. But translating slang into another language is extremely difficult, and the result here is some awfully cringeworthy paragraphs.
Since the book is more than ten years old now, I wonder how the medical ethics regulations have evolved in the US. Since their inadequacy is one of the key points of this book, it would be great to have newer editions of the book come out with updated appendices or new author's notes to reflect the change that hopefully occurred in the last decade.
Reading this book, I enjoyed learning more about Henrietta Lacks' life, her background and environment. I was also (surprisingly) intrigued by the history of cell culture, which is laid out in quite some detail in the book. Don't worry though: The language is very accessible to non-scientists. The author's thorough understanding of the underlying science helps make her explanations clear to everyone.
The sheer amount of research Rebecca Skloot did to find all the little (and bigger) pieces of information is incredible. The book's annex lists an impressive number of sources: archives and scientific publications next to first-hand reports from people who were involved with Henrietta Lacks or her cells.
At times, however, I did feel that the portrayal of the current situation of Henrietta Lacks' descendants was a tad more voyeuristic than would have been necessary. From reading some interviews with the author I understand why she chose to write the book the way she did, but in some chapters it distracted me from what was actually going on.
An additional star has to come off my final rating of this book for the German translation that I read. If you can, read the original English version of this book. In many instances the translator used outdated terms ("Vettern", "sein Mütchen kühlen"), which made me cringe while reading and killed the mood for me.
In addition, the author chose to quote her sources verbatim - in slang and sometimes "grammatically incorrect" phrases. This is another choice I understood, and I assume it works well in the original English. But translating slang into another language is extremely difficult, and the result here is some awfully cringeworthy paragraphs.
Since the book is more than ten years old now, I wonder how the medical ethics regulations have evolved in the US. Since their inadequacy is one of the key points of this book, it would be great to have newer editions of the book come out with updated appendices or new author's notes to reflect the change that hopefully occurred in the last decade.
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