UW-Madison selected “The Death of the Great Lakes” as the 2018-’19 Go Big Read, according to a UW-Madison press release.
The book, written by two-time Pulitzer-Prize finalist and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Dan Egan, examines the dangers facing the Great Lakes, as well as the different ways they can be restored and preserved.
Egan, a native of Green Bay, Wis., grew to love Lake Michigan by spending summer weekends and vacations on the Door County Peninsula, according to the release. He covered the Great Lakes for the MJS since 2003, investigating threats to the lakes and the effectiveness of government efforts to protect them.
“This book should appeal to our students, particularly given the rapid growth in classes that address environmental issues,” Chancellor Rebecca Blank said in the release. “Plus over 80 percent of our fall 2017 incoming freshman come from states that border the great lakes, so for them this is personal.”
Copies of the book will be given to first-year students at the Chancellor’s Convocation for New Students in the fall, as well as students using the book for classes, according to the release.
“The Death and Life of the Great Lakes” is the tenth selection of the Chancellor’s Go Big Read Initiative.
