The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot is a New York Times bestseller. Henrietta Lacks is a poor black tobacco farmer who is oblivious to the fact that her cells were stolen in 1951. Her cells are responsible for major breakthroughs in the field of medicine. They were used to pioneer many things such as development of the polio medicine, cloning, gene mapping, etc. Inspite of the fact that her cells have contributed to such major developments in the field of medicine, she remains unrecognized, so much so that her family cannot even afford a mere health insurance.The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a moving story of racial discrimination and how ethics are compromised in the field of medicine. The poor girl?s miracle cells are traded several times and people are making huge amounts of money, but she is an unsung hero. The book also tells us the story of a girl who is on a quest to find out about the mother she never knew.The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a well-researched and sensitively told story. The book has received a lot of critical acclaim and the story spans several decades. The book also explores issues like scientific discovery and faith healing.