Black Cottage

By Tom Dudley

?????Let me introduce you to Henrietta Lacks. She was a young mother of five small children who died of cervical cancer in 1951, yet she has achieved a measure of immortality in a strangely macabre sort of way. Doctors harvested some of her cancer cells, which proved to be particularly aggressive. Over the past fifty years generations of this laboratory-grown cell line, called "HeLa" for "Henrietta Lacks," have been used for a wide variety of biomedical research purposes. Literally tens of thousands of articles have appeared in the scientific literature since that time which involve the use of Henrietta?s remarkably vigorous posterity. Particularly chilling is the fact that on numerous occasions other cell lines have accidentally become contaminated with HeLa cells. When this has happened, HeLa cells rapidly killed the original cells. ????? ?????All of the above is true. Black Cottage involves a medical school oncologist who, funded by old-guard Russian communists, genetically engineers a frighteningly virulent HeLa cell line which is capable of infecting and killing humans. In performing his tests with HeLa, the infection spreads out of control, and over a dozen people become infected. Jim Burningham, an epidemiologist at the same medical school, reluctantly finds himself thrust into the role of medical detective. He must discover why a handful of individuals, though infected, do not become ill, while all others suffer a rapid, agonizing death. His job of finding the cure becomes intensely personal when he unintentionally infects a friend with HeLa.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1401015654
• ISBN13: 9781401015657
• Release Date: August 2001
• Publisher: Authorhouse
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.8" x 0.8" x 5.8"

Customer Reviews

The Black Cottage

The Black Cottage kept my interest from the beginning page until the final sentence. Even though I am not familiar with medical terms it was easily understood. I found myself not wanting to put the book down. I am a John Grisham fan and this book rates up there with many of his novels. Five stars go to the Black Cottage.

I couldn't put it down!

Mr. Dudley did an outstanding job with this medical mystery. I couldn't put it down once I started reading it. I can't wait for the movie!!

Black Cottage

Black Cottage is one of those books that grabs the reader from the very first and then doesn't let up til the end. I found myself holding my breath, sitting on the edge of my seat, and desperately reading into the late night. It's theme of biochemical exploitation for terrorism is especially timely, too. I would get this for any adult on your Christmas list, but it would also capture the imagination of a young adult (7th grade and up) and stimulate his interest to read.

Bioterrorism at its BEST!!!

a fascinating read!although i'm not an avid fiction reader, the timeliness of this book prompted me to read it. i found that i could not put this book down during my flight and HAD to finish the book while on a train ride to downtown Chicago.suspense, intrigue, science, murder, spies, romance, suffering,isolation, travel, medicine, cdc, friendship, dedication, riskBioterrism is NOW a reality! this book was completed before this had happened. Using all literary devices in a nonformula manner kept me enthralled in this fascinating story. Don't miss your chance to be entertained and incidentally educated on how epidemiologists track down diseases and how genetic engineering could lead to even greater risk than our present complement of deadly diseases.I immediately passed this book on to a friend to enjoy!I highly recommend this book to both fiction and nonfiction readers.