Astonishment At "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks"

 There is little I can add to the cacophony of reviews that are already out there. Still, I have to gush about how wonderful this book is. I am typically a fiction reader but often  dip into nonfiction as long as it proves to be interesting and insightful. This seemed like it would be right up my alley, but I shied away from it because there seemed to be so much hype surrounding it. I dislike hype, on principal and try to stay away from most bestseller lists. Actually, I picked this book by default because the audiobook was in my partner’s car. Halfway through the first disc, I was completely enthralled. I even crossed state lines to go to a bookstore and buy a paperback copy so I could read it 24/7. After I finished it, I wanted to so back and read it all over again!

Unless you live under a rock, you have probably heard about this book. Still, I’ll give you a brief overview just in case you’ve been trapped in a time capsule. Henrietta Lacks was an African-American woman who lived in Maryland when she felt a hard ball on her cervix. Having no health insurance and little money, she went to Johns Hopkins where they removed her tumor and took some of her cells for future testing. However, the doctors did this without anyone’s knowledge or approval. Though Henrietta eventually died from this cancer, her cells became the first immortal cells. Since her death, they’ve been used in thousands of experiments in numerous field. Though people have made millions on Henrietta’s cells, her family saw none of the money and still has no health insurance.

Killing of Cancer Cell

What makes this book so fantastic is that the author takes a holistic approach to her writing. She doesn’t simply focus on the science of the cells but spends an equal amount of time on Henrietta’s family and their history. This adds an emotional edge that left me crying at times, which a book strictly on cells would never do (unless I was crying with boredom). The most exceptional aspect of the book is how well researched it is. Clearly, Henrietta’s family has been misrepresented since the 1950s. Fortunately, the author took years to get to know the family, understand their plight, and write objectively. I could ramble on for pages and pages but I will end by saying this: “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” is by far one of the best books I have read in my entire life (and I read a lot).

Can Anyone Even TRY to Write a Biography Worth of Hoover's Insanity?

I love graphic novels. I think that they’re a fantastic medium to explore a multitude of topics. Sadly, besides memoirs, there are very few nonfiction graphic novels (I am aware of the contradiction in that statement). So when I stumbled upon Rick Geary’s graphic biographies, I felt like the graphic novel deities had granted my wish. Sadly, I don’t think that this series is all that it’s cracked up to be. In fact, I would stick to his series on Victorian era murders.

I am not going to rely the entire biography of J. Edgar Hoover here. If you’re interested in his life, go see the new movie or Google it. Instead, this review is going to focus on this specific biography. Like Geary’s work in his other series, his graphics are used to illustrate the very dry text that he supplies. In fact, the book reads more like a timeline than an enthralling biography. At just about 100 pages, there really isn’t enough room to really delve into the conflicting aspects of Hoover’s character.

Hoover in 1959. Courtesy of the FBI

Personally, I had never read anything about Hoover so I was hoping to learn a great deal from this book. Unfortunately, the facts came at me rapid fire and I had difficulty remembering them once I closed the book. That being said, I think that people who are familiar with his life may enjoy this book as a refresher. The graphics are typical Geary but they somehow lose their charm in this book. Of course this is not a comment on all of his graphic biographies (though I took a stab at the issue on Trotsky and couldn’t get through it). For me, I’m going to stick with his previous series instead!

Similar Reads (but better): The Victorian Murder Series by Geary