Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand (Random House, 2010)
Washington D.C.-based journalist tackles World War II in her sophomore effort (she also created the compelling narrative behind Seabiscuit). Once again Laura Hillenbrand crafts a fascinating, non-fiction story that reads just like flowing fiction and features a track Olympian, Louie Zamperini, who survives a wrenching Pacific bomber crash to float for weeks on a rubber raft until he is captured by the Japanese and held as a POW for years, bouncing from one horrific prisoner camp to another. Bewildered in the aftermath of his war service, Louie ultimately faces his demons and finds renewal in forgiveness (9.5/10).
Monday, January 24, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
RollnSmoke Reviews: THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HANRIETTA LACKS by Rebecca Skloot
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (Crown, 2010)
This debut book by a young, accomplished science writer tells the story of the infamous HeLa cell, which came from the ovarian cancer mass of a poor, young black woman who accessed John Hopkins University Hospital for medical care in the early 1950’s. Stunning the world of science, Henrietta Lacks’ cells not only continued to live after her death, but they reproduced billions upon billions of times to create a backbone to science (particularly disease) research. While offering Henrietta’s life story, this book also tells the story of her family – especially of her devoted daughter, Deborah -- who never knew about their mother’s magnificent cells; therein the author touches upon the wider issues involving race, science, ethics and class (9/10).
This debut book by a young, accomplished science writer tells the story of the infamous HeLa cell, which came from the ovarian cancer mass of a poor, young black woman who accessed John Hopkins University Hospital for medical care in the early 1950’s. Stunning the world of science, Henrietta Lacks’ cells not only continued to live after her death, but they reproduced billions upon billions of times to create a backbone to science (particularly disease) research. While offering Henrietta’s life story, this book also tells the story of her family – especially of her devoted daughter, Deborah -- who never knew about their mother’s magnificent cells; therein the author touches upon the wider issues involving race, science, ethics and class (9/10).