PositiveThe Seattle TimesThe HeLa story has been told before, in books, magazine articles and documentaries, but no one got as close to the Lacks family as Skloot did. Her book was a decade in the making, and it's clear why: It took that long to win the trust of people who, with reason, felt betrayed by the medical establishment … That story is a stew of race, class, medical paternalism, well-meaning if blinkered researchers and changing rules governing patient privacy. Skloot lays out the multiple ethical problems arising from HeLa as clearly as she describes the scientific triumphs Lacks' cells made possible … Her book not only restores Lacks' humanity but appears to have brought a measure of peace to her troubled family. It's as much an act of justice as one of journalism.
