Murder by Death

I thought this was an excellent book. I bought it for the science, and the science was excellent; not so difficult your average well-educated reader would struggle with, but not written for a simpleton either. What I didn't expect (and should have, really) was the very real human story that continues to haunt the lives of so many people.  Henrietta is no longer here to care about what happens to her cells, but her family remains;  heartbreakingly poor while their mother's cells are singly responsible for most of the medical breakthroughs of our time.

The author does a credible job of building the story of Henrietta's life and afterlife (so to speak) and weaving it through the lives of the scientists and doctors who, for the most part, disregarded her as a human being with rights (although they did nothing that wasn't in keeping with the times they lived in).  While chronicling the lives of Henrietta's children, the author at times comes close to the maudlin, but really their story is a sad one and if she hadn't veered too close to maudlin, she'd probably have veered too close to heartless.

A very good book for those that have an interest in science or can appreciate the cautionary tale of the consequences of putting science before humanity.