BEACH NOTES ... September 20, 2011 ... Ocean City, New Jersey

Occasional Book Review ... from Ocean City, New Jersey

My wife and I started a book club with our Ocean City Yacht Club intending to read 5 books (one per month which would cover the yacht club summer time frame. We conclude with our final book this evening ... THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS (2010) by Rebecca Skloot.

I've enjoyed the mixed company of men and women (about 10-14 of us most of the time), and I also enjoyed the challenge of reading a number of books that would not have been on my reading list. This is one of them. I recently picked up my Elizabethtown College seasonal magazine ... and there was a picture of our new college President reading the same book. Later I see his wife in an article talking about the required reading for all members of the freshmen class ... the same book. Amazing how good things drift around.

So I would recommend this one for your review. It will challenge your thinking about the 1950s and what happened to Henrietta Lacks. It will also print an interesting profile and the good and not-so-good on scientific research in our country and beyond. Without a doubt Rebecca Skloot took on a challenging task in her personal research to obtain all of the data for this interesting book.

So when you are out and about (can anyone still find a real bookstore out there?), check this one out. dap