UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin selected ""The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks"" by Rebecca Skloot Tuesday to be the featured book for next year's Go Big Read program.
Martin said Skloot's book is a good choice for the program because of the intellectual and personal issues it addresses.
The book describes the scientific studies conducted on Henrietta Lacks, a poor African-American woman who died from cervical cancer in 1951. Cancerous tissue was taken as a sample without her knowledge or consent before her death.
The book addresses many important issues including medical ethics, poverty, racism, and scientific progress.
The book is about the scientific impact Lacks' cells had on medical advancements, which included vaccines for polio, treatments for leukemia, other drug developments and increased knowledge about cancer.
Lacks' family had no knowledge and was given no monetary compensation until 20 years after her death.
Sarah McDaniel, coordinator for the Library and Information Literacy Instruction Program, said the book will spark discussions about relevant issues.
""We hope it will generate a lot of interesting discussions about research and ethics on campus,"" McDaniel said.
McDaniel said the book's national popularity and campus relevance will appeal to campus members.
""A lot of people are excited about this book. It has been featured on CBS and the author has been featured on NPR,"" McDaniel said. ""It relates to the cell research strengths on campus along with ethics and some touchy issues that people can relate to.""
