Copies of the award-winning nonfiction book “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot will be available free for the first 20 participants who attend a series of entertaining discussions on the book.
The discussions will take place from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. March 20, 27 and April 3 in Room 309 of the Texas Tech University Library. Refreshments will be served. This discussion is part of a series of group book reads sponsored jointly by the Humanities Center at Texas Tech and the University Libraries.
In 2011 the book won the National Academies Communication Award for best creative work that promoted public understanding of topics in science, engineering or medicine. “The Immortal Life” is about an African-American woman, Henrietta Lacks, whose cervical cancer cells, known as HeLa cells, became immortal. Although Lacks died in 1951, her immortal cells live on and are used today in bio-medical research. The book is notable for its dealing with ethical issues of race and class in medical research, and was named a best book of the year by more than 60 media outlets.
Contact Jack Becker, jack.becker@ttu.edu, or 806.834.1615 to reserve a spot and a copy of the book.
For more information about the book discussion series, please go to: http://guides.library.ttu.edu/reading.
