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Why To Kill a Mockingbird Matters: What Harper Lee's Book and America's Iconic Film Mean to Us Today
Tom Santopietro, an author well-known for his writing about American popular culture, delves into the heart of the beloved classic and shows readers why To Kill a Mockingbird matters more today than ever before.
With 40 million copies sold, To Kill a Mockingbird's poignant but clear eyed examination of human nature has cemented its status as a global classic. Tom Santopietro's new book, Why To Kill a Mockingbird Matters, takes a 360 degree look at the Mockingbird phenomenon both on page and screen.
Santopietro traces the writing of To Kill a Mockingbird, the impact of the Pulitzer Prize, and investigates the claims that Lee's book is actually racist. Here for the first time is the full behind the scenes story regarding the creation of the 1962 film, one which entered the American consciousness in a way that few other films ever have. From the earliest casting sessions to the Oscars and the 50th Anniversary screening at the White House, Santopietro examines exactly what makes the movie and Gregory Peck's unforgettable performance as Atticus Finch so captivating.
As Americans yearn for hope and an end to divisiveness, there is no better time to look at the significance of Harper Lee's book, the film, and all that came after.
With 40 million copies sold, To Kill a Mockingbird's poignant but clear eyed examination of human nature has cemented its status as a global classic. Tom Santopietro's new book, Why To Kill a Mockingbird Matters, takes a 360 degree look at the Mockingbird phenomenon both on page and screen.
Santopietro traces the writing of To Kill a Mockingbird, the impact of the Pulitzer Prize, and investigates the claims that Lee's book is actually racist. Here for the first time is the full behind the scenes story regarding the creation of the 1962 film, one which entered the American consciousness in a way that few other films ever have. From the earliest casting sessions to the Oscars and the 50th Anniversary screening at the White House, Santopietro examines exactly what makes the movie and Gregory Peck's unforgettable performance as Atticus Finch so captivating.
As Americans yearn for hope and an end to divisiveness, there is no better time to look at the significance of Harper Lee's book, the film, and all that came after.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published June 19, 2018
29 people are currently reading
1227 people want to read
About the author
Tom Santopietro
16 books21 followersTom Santopietro is the author of seven books: Why To Kill a Mockingbird Matters, Barbara Cook: Then and Now, the bestselling The Sound of Music Story, The Godfather Effect: Changing Hollywood, America, and Me, Sinatra in Hollywood, Considering Doris Day (New York Times Sunday Book Review Editor’s Choice) and The Importance of Being Barbra. A frequent media commentator and interviewer, he lectures on classic films, and over the past thirty years has managed more than two dozen Broadway shows.
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May 15, 2018I did not care for this book. At all. Review forthcoming.
July 4, 2018
4+ Enlightening Stars for me!
NELLE HARPER LEE - April 28, 1926 - February 19, 2016.
Its all here....How it all came to be....the novel, the screenplay, the movie, and discussion of "America's Original National Sin......Slavery."
Perhaps I'm the only one, but did not know TKAM was a semi-autobiographical work....that Lee's attorney father, A. C. Lee was the inspiration for Atticus....that he actually defended two African American men accused of murdering a white man and really was much like the character in real life....did not know why there was no maternal presence....that actor's Jem and Scout despised each other....that Truman Capote lived next door to Lee as a child and inspired the character Dill....that Lee played a big part in the writing of IN COLD BLOOD....and Holy Crap! WOW!....how the character BOO and giving presents in the knothole of a tree ended up a "key plot element."
Nelle Harper Lee was born in Monroeville, Alabama, the youngest of four, a tomboy, a child of the depression era. She had a somewhat "uneasy" childhood, and as she grew older knew she wanted out of "stifling" small town life. She studied law at Oxford for a bit to please her beloved father, hated it, decided to try to become a writer and moved to Manhattan.
First published July 11, 1960, a now 33 year old Lee struggled over a decade to complete TKAM during a volatile time in America when the civil rights movement was hot and heavy, and little did she know that over time her success would be one of pride and misery. She disliked the spotlight and interviews with a passion even giving a big NO to Oprah....but they did have lunch.
"My book had a universal theme. It's not a "racial" novel. It portrays an aspect of civilization, not necessary southern civilization....It's a novel of man's conscience....universal in that it could happen to anybody, anywhere people live together." - - - Harper Lee, The Birmingham
Oh so many fun tidbits of trivia here: How Lee came by Harper as a middle name....why she decided to use it instead of Nelle at the time of publication....that the entire town of an atmospheric 1932 Maycomb was built and filmed on a 15 acre back lot of Universal for $225k....and if you own the flick, check out the reflection of a crew member in the marble playing scene....I intend to. Fun stuff!
So......Very interesting, Very informative, Very detailed to include casting, actors, directors, producers, their personal lives, etc. etc. etc. and there's even a breakdown of each movie scene with much discussion of WHY TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD MATTERS."
TKAM began "a multi-generational national discussion of race in a way no one anticipated" that is still so very relevant to day.
Many thanks to St. Martin's Press via NetGalley for the arc AVAILABLE NOW in exchange for an honest review. So enjoyed it!
January 7, 2019
Netgalley #68
Thanks go to Tom Santopietro, St. Martin Press, and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.
Harper Lee wrote the quintessential Southern novel. It's still read today in schools. It was relevant in the 60s, and it's relevant now. But why is it relevant? That's the question Santopietro answers in this book. He starts with Harper's childhood and progresses through the filming of the movie onto "racial vitriol" of the 21st century.
This is quite a moving reference of all things Mockingbird. Gregory Peck sounds like he was born to play Atticus Finch. It does have me questioning the point of Go Set a Watchman though. I've yet to read that book, but it seems to me that it's rather placed a tarnish on a once bright shine. I almost want to sell my copy and never, ever open it.
I was impressed by the people involved in bringing Mockingbird to life. They breathed the air that made the book what it became. And literature was never the same.
Thanks go to Tom Santopietro, St. Martin Press, and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.
Harper Lee wrote the quintessential Southern novel. It's still read today in schools. It was relevant in the 60s, and it's relevant now. But why is it relevant? That's the question Santopietro answers in this book. He starts with Harper's childhood and progresses through the filming of the movie onto "racial vitriol" of the 21st century.
This is quite a moving reference of all things Mockingbird. Gregory Peck sounds like he was born to play Atticus Finch. It does have me questioning the point of Go Set a Watchman though. I've yet to read that book, but it seems to me that it's rather placed a tarnish on a once bright shine. I almost want to sell my copy and never, ever open it.
I was impressed by the people involved in bringing Mockingbird to life. They breathed the air that made the book what it became. And literature was never the same.
July 29, 2022
I think 50 or so pages would be enough to explain why Harper Lee's seminal book continues to resonate. Dragged out to around 300 pages, and including a disproportionate amount of play-by-play of scenes from the movie, this book is a real drag. Both
I am Scout: The Biography of Harper Lee
and
Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee
are vastly more interesting works that contain all the important facts included or excluded in this book.
April 3, 2018
Why to kill a mockingbird matters by Tom Santopietro
As much a biography of Harper Lee as it is a telling of the era’s racial climate surrounding the book’s publication, subsequent film production and Academy award for Gregory Peck.
The back story to Lee was quite interesting, her familial life leading up to her semi-autobiographical writing of Mockingbird. Her tomboy ways, attorney father and how the mental maladies of her mother absented her from the novel.
The interweaving of other writers, singers, politicians and moods give a deeper feel to both sides of this still ongoing disparity. It was enlightening when so much was juxtaposed for a broader take on such a quintessential era of American history.
The brief telling of Lee and Capote essentially growing up together, their quick and perfect bonding. “Each seemed half boy and half girl,” and later becoming characters in the other’s novels.
Intriguing, how the current events assisted in shaping the change from “Go Set A Watchman” to the final Mockingbird masterpiece. Even instances in her own front yard (and nearby tree) came to be literary gold.
This is a biography of a book. Fascinating, evoking, endearing. A book that can ask “If America had helped make the world safe for democracy by defeating the fascist powers, when would the country ever live up to its own promise of liberty and justice for all?” Disassembling the many aspects, sexism, racism, religion, wealth, and even androgenism that play out through the pages, it is, as noted via a quote of Faulkner that “The past is no dead. It’s not even past.” Witness today, pathetically.
As with most works of art that challenge, there were great reservations from Hollywood to make the subsequent movie. When you truly believe in something, there always seems to be a way.
Numerous leading men and how/why Gregory Peck came to the coveted roll of Atticus. Backstories on him, as well as producer, director, casting director, and script writer were all titillating. But the findings of Mary Badham and Phillip Alford was just as tantamount. Then the rest of the cast, with all backstories proving quite entertaining. It was also of interest the deliberate eye for recreation details. How perfect every set had to be. Odd, the things we take for granted when watching movies.
And the release, ironically showing in cities where civil rights rallies were being hosed into submission.
A near scene by scene deciphering is followed by a brief synopsis of life after Mockingbird for those involved.
Then the prequel... Go Set A Watchman. The tizzy over its 50 year absence, it’s current intent, and, of course, its content. The nary juxtaposition of Atticus then and he now against Scout and Jean Louise. That it fell into our hands as Ferguson, Missouri erupted, was not lost for its reincarnated irony.
With sales still at averages of 750,000 annually, one can not dispute its continual literary relevance. Social? Let’s leave it to Uncle Jack, as he tells Jean Louise “Prejudice, a dirty word, and faith, a clean one, have something in common: they both begin where reason ends.” Where is yours?
“Why To Kill A Mockingbird Still Matters” is a splendidly insightful read for all fans of its basis. P’raps no revelations for many, but nicely laid in one easy read, highlighting the pertinent and showing us how history historically repeats itself, no matter.
As much a biography of Harper Lee as it is a telling of the era’s racial climate surrounding the book’s publication, subsequent film production and Academy award for Gregory Peck.
The back story to Lee was quite interesting, her familial life leading up to her semi-autobiographical writing of Mockingbird. Her tomboy ways, attorney father and how the mental maladies of her mother absented her from the novel.
The interweaving of other writers, singers, politicians and moods give a deeper feel to both sides of this still ongoing disparity. It was enlightening when so much was juxtaposed for a broader take on such a quintessential era of American history.
The brief telling of Lee and Capote essentially growing up together, their quick and perfect bonding. “Each seemed half boy and half girl,” and later becoming characters in the other’s novels.
Intriguing, how the current events assisted in shaping the change from “Go Set A Watchman” to the final Mockingbird masterpiece. Even instances in her own front yard (and nearby tree) came to be literary gold.
This is a biography of a book. Fascinating, evoking, endearing. A book that can ask “If America had helped make the world safe for democracy by defeating the fascist powers, when would the country ever live up to its own promise of liberty and justice for all?” Disassembling the many aspects, sexism, racism, religion, wealth, and even androgenism that play out through the pages, it is, as noted via a quote of Faulkner that “The past is no dead. It’s not even past.” Witness today, pathetically.
As with most works of art that challenge, there were great reservations from Hollywood to make the subsequent movie. When you truly believe in something, there always seems to be a way.
Numerous leading men and how/why Gregory Peck came to the coveted roll of Atticus. Backstories on him, as well as producer, director, casting director, and script writer were all titillating. But the findings of Mary Badham and Phillip Alford was just as tantamount. Then the rest of the cast, with all backstories proving quite entertaining. It was also of interest the deliberate eye for recreation details. How perfect every set had to be. Odd, the things we take for granted when watching movies.
And the release, ironically showing in cities where civil rights rallies were being hosed into submission.
A near scene by scene deciphering is followed by a brief synopsis of life after Mockingbird for those involved.
Then the prequel... Go Set A Watchman. The tizzy over its 50 year absence, it’s current intent, and, of course, its content. The nary juxtaposition of Atticus then and he now against Scout and Jean Louise. That it fell into our hands as Ferguson, Missouri erupted, was not lost for its reincarnated irony.
With sales still at averages of 750,000 annually, one can not dispute its continual literary relevance. Social? Let’s leave it to Uncle Jack, as he tells Jean Louise “Prejudice, a dirty word, and faith, a clean one, have something in common: they both begin where reason ends.” Where is yours?
“Why To Kill A Mockingbird Still Matters” is a splendidly insightful read for all fans of its basis. P’raps no revelations for many, but nicely laid in one easy read, highlighting the pertinent and showing us how history historically repeats itself, no matter.
June 29, 2025
A nostalgic read for me, this book offers some of the same praise and devotion I feel for To Kill a Mockingbird, which I’ve read more than a dozen times, my first paperback copy held together with a rubber band. It focuses a great deal on the movie as well, and that’s fine with me since I adore that, too.
August 10, 2018
I recently re-read To Kill A Mockingbird. The classic novel is one of 100 books chosen for The Great American Read. I remembered loving the book when I read it in high school and again in college. I think I liked it even more re-reading it as a middle-aged adult.
Tom Santpietro's book delves into the impact that the novel and the 1962 film version have had, touching on whether the book is racist and how it relates to the current culture in America. I loved this in-depth look at one of my favorite classic books (and classic film). I liked how the author pinpointed why this book is still relevant today. I didn't necessarily agree with all of his points and the discussion of whether this book is racist went on a little too long in my opinion. But, I thought it was a thoughtful and well-researched look into the novel and the impact it had on American, and global, culture.
Reading this book has given me the strength to finally read the copy of Go Set a Watchman that has been sitting on my TBR shelf since it's publication. I haven't been able to gather up the courage to read it since I know it changes the story somewhat (Atticus is racist and other major changes), and because I felt it might have been exploitation of the author to publish what is basically her first unpublished version of the story. I think I'm ready to brave it now.....and then spend some time thinking about how I feel about it.
This is the first book by Tom Santopietro that I have read. He's written several other books about films and culture including The Godfather Effect, Considering Doris Day, The Sound of Music Story, and The Importance of Being Barbra. I'm definitely going to read more of his books. This one was incredibly thought provoking for me and I enjoy how he relates literature and film to our culture.
**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from St. Martins Press. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**
Tom Santpietro's book delves into the impact that the novel and the 1962 film version have had, touching on whether the book is racist and how it relates to the current culture in America. I loved this in-depth look at one of my favorite classic books (and classic film). I liked how the author pinpointed why this book is still relevant today. I didn't necessarily agree with all of his points and the discussion of whether this book is racist went on a little too long in my opinion. But, I thought it was a thoughtful and well-researched look into the novel and the impact it had on American, and global, culture.
Reading this book has given me the strength to finally read the copy of Go Set a Watchman that has been sitting on my TBR shelf since it's publication. I haven't been able to gather up the courage to read it since I know it changes the story somewhat (Atticus is racist and other major changes), and because I felt it might have been exploitation of the author to publish what is basically her first unpublished version of the story. I think I'm ready to brave it now.....and then spend some time thinking about how I feel about it.
This is the first book by Tom Santopietro that I have read. He's written several other books about films and culture including The Godfather Effect, Considering Doris Day, The Sound of Music Story, and The Importance of Being Barbra. I'm definitely going to read more of his books. This one was incredibly thought provoking for me and I enjoy how he relates literature and film to our culture.
**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from St. Martins Press. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**
March 3, 2023
I wish a greater focus on the novel, it was more focused on the film
June 29, 2018
Since I recently read Joseph Crespino's Atticus Finch: The Biography, I'm not sure why I decided to read this book by Tom Santopietro. I'm not really a fan of To Kill a Mockingbird, and only read it after reading Go Set a Watchman. I also only saw the entire movie, with Gregory Peck, for the first time after reading both novels. Maybe I was wondering if Mr. Santopietro could convince me the book and movie still mattered. He did not.
Nevertheless, he did write a highly readable book that covered many aspects of the novel and the movie, and looked at the lives of those involved in both. In addition, while he did bring up criticisms of both, too often Mr. Santopietro just sounded like a gushing fan. I'm no gushing fan. To me, To Kill A Mockingbird is a dated Jim Crow story; important in its day, but not after the civil rights movement went into full swing. Moreover, the movie was a complete fable, as author Joseph Crespino called it. It's Hollywood showing the righteous white man out to save the poor black man, complete with a black maid who loved and cared for his motherless children.
Even more dismaying was how so many readers of Go Set a Watchman acted like they had been betrayed by their own beloved daddy, when the Atticus Finch in that book was portrayed in a much more realistic manner--the Southern man who did not believe in lynchings or other types of violence against black; but did believe in treating them in a paternalistic way, seeing them as not intelligent enough to vote wisely. Idolizing others is for children, not adults. If someone wants to see a real white man who truly helped blacks, watch videos or read books about President Lyndon Johnson. If someone wants to see what actually lead to the death of Jim Crow, watch the PBS documentary Eyes On The Prize.
Maybe To Kill a Mockingbird is important as a work of literature, and should still be taught in English classes. It's not important as a work about race relations, however, at least not since the early 1960s. Moreover, the book and movie aren't good for those who wish to believe in fantasies, instead of dealing with reality. Gregory Peck was no more the real Atticus Finch than the Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird. The real Atticus Finch was in Go Set a Watchman. Read it and weep all you want, but at least don't pretend it's not true, or act like a hurt child who has been betrayed.
(Note: I received a free e-copy of this book from NetGalley and the author or publisher.)
Nevertheless, he did write a highly readable book that covered many aspects of the novel and the movie, and looked at the lives of those involved in both. In addition, while he did bring up criticisms of both, too often Mr. Santopietro just sounded like a gushing fan. I'm no gushing fan. To me, To Kill A Mockingbird is a dated Jim Crow story; important in its day, but not after the civil rights movement went into full swing. Moreover, the movie was a complete fable, as author Joseph Crespino called it. It's Hollywood showing the righteous white man out to save the poor black man, complete with a black maid who loved and cared for his motherless children.
Even more dismaying was how so many readers of Go Set a Watchman acted like they had been betrayed by their own beloved daddy, when the Atticus Finch in that book was portrayed in a much more realistic manner--the Southern man who did not believe in lynchings or other types of violence against black; but did believe in treating them in a paternalistic way, seeing them as not intelligent enough to vote wisely. Idolizing others is for children, not adults. If someone wants to see a real white man who truly helped blacks, watch videos or read books about President Lyndon Johnson. If someone wants to see what actually lead to the death of Jim Crow, watch the PBS documentary Eyes On The Prize.
Maybe To Kill a Mockingbird is important as a work of literature, and should still be taught in English classes. It's not important as a work about race relations, however, at least not since the early 1960s. Moreover, the book and movie aren't good for those who wish to believe in fantasies, instead of dealing with reality. Gregory Peck was no more the real Atticus Finch than the Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird. The real Atticus Finch was in Go Set a Watchman. Read it and weep all you want, but at least don't pretend it's not true, or act like a hurt child who has been betrayed.
(Note: I received a free e-copy of this book from NetGalley and the author or publisher.)
January 21, 2020
This is a great survey of all the various incarnations of To Kill A Mockingbird, up to the current Broadway play. It certainly aids the reader in contextualizing all those many variations. I don't agree with all the conclusions the book makes, but certainly reading To Kill A Mockingbird is still worth the time and energy.
January 5, 2019
A straightforward look at the development, release, impact and legacy of "To Kill a Mockingbird": the book, the film, and the book's unexpected follow-up with "Go Set a Watchman". There's nothing surprising in here, but it is a powerful synthesis of ideas, and it does shed new light on Harper Lee & some other fascinating (and tragic) people, such as Truman Capote. A solid, enjoyable, and useful piece of historical analysis.
July 22, 2018
Her words ring down through the generations, falling as forcefully as the free-flowing waters of Niagara. A book that took a decade to write, garnered a Pulitzer for the author, and a career-defining role for one Hollywood A-Lister. Now Tom Santopietro digs deep, peeling away the hype, tugging at the very fibers that bind Lee's work. Searching to answer the lingering question - "Why To Kill A Mockingbird Matters?"
Some five decades after it was first published, To Kill A Mockingbird resonates with some, encourages others, and provides inspiration for still others. But there are those who simply slogged through the book in High School English class and never thought about it again. So what is the legacy of TKAM? Why does it continue to engage and entertain readers the world over? The topics are timely and relevant. If you didn't know better you would think it was just recently published. Is this why it matters? Or maybe this question cannot be answered by writers and film-makers because it is personal to each individual that reads the book.
For those who haven't read recently published books related to TKAM, there's a lot of surprising, interesting, and downright 'holy-moly I had no idea' moments awaiting you in Why To Kill A Mockingbird Matters. If you're a reader that picks up anything related to TKAM, you quickly realize a substantial amount of this information has been covered. However, not with Santopietro's flowy, easy to read style. Why TKAM Matters should come with a warning - that reading this book will open your eyes, answer many of your questions, and cause a nearly uncontrollable urge to read the original book and watch the movie. . .even if you have done both a thousand times.
Just to wet your appetite - did you know Lee's very own Father was the inspiration for her beloved character, Atticus Finch? Or that Dill was based on Lee's Monroeville neighbor, Truman Capote? Yes, the author of In Cold Blood. Santopietro goes behind the curtain and meticulously covers, discusses and critiques the movie. Recounting each scene in near mind-bending detail. Readers will learn film-makers often go way beyond the extra mile to get a scene not just right, but perfect. All that hard work is often lost on popcorn munching movie-goers. After reading Why TKAM Matters I will be watching and listening for all the little nuances this book pointed out.
To Kill A Mockingbird was originally published in 1960, instantly shooting to the top of best-seller lists. The adaptation by Hollywood quickly followed two years later. If numbers represent relevance, the annual sale of 750,000 copies of To Kill A Mockingbird may just reveal more about the current atmosphere of race relations than it does about simply reading an infamous work of literature.
Why To Kill A Mockingbird Matters is very well written, insightful, and highly entertaining. In the final pages, Santopietro reveals inside information and discusses, in-depthly, the back and forths surrounding Go Set A Watchman. Published, unedited by Harper Collins in July 2015, mere months before the death of author Harper Lee. Again Lee's work resulted in controversy. Many questioned the author's mental ability to understand what was happening. Others question how such a work could have gone "undiscovered" for half a century. Santopietro follows every lead - details every conversation.
Tom Santopietro has delivered an unflinching, brilliantly researched novel. He did his homework for sure! Why To Kill A Mockingbird Matters has been asked for nearly sixty years. Is it art imitating life or life disguised as art? That's up to the individual. Whether you loved the original book, hated it, or have never read it, you will enjoy this one. Tom Santopietro's novel is yet another nod to Harper Lee's words. It also serves as a reminder to young and old alike, we have much left to do before we achieve liberty and justice for all.
Happy Reading,
Some five decades after it was first published, To Kill A Mockingbird resonates with some, encourages others, and provides inspiration for still others. But there are those who simply slogged through the book in High School English class and never thought about it again. So what is the legacy of TKAM? Why does it continue to engage and entertain readers the world over? The topics are timely and relevant. If you didn't know better you would think it was just recently published. Is this why it matters? Or maybe this question cannot be answered by writers and film-makers because it is personal to each individual that reads the book.
For those who haven't read recently published books related to TKAM, there's a lot of surprising, interesting, and downright 'holy-moly I had no idea' moments awaiting you in Why To Kill A Mockingbird Matters. If you're a reader that picks up anything related to TKAM, you quickly realize a substantial amount of this information has been covered. However, not with Santopietro's flowy, easy to read style. Why TKAM Matters should come with a warning - that reading this book will open your eyes, answer many of your questions, and cause a nearly uncontrollable urge to read the original book and watch the movie. . .even if you have done both a thousand times.
Just to wet your appetite - did you know Lee's very own Father was the inspiration for her beloved character, Atticus Finch? Or that Dill was based on Lee's Monroeville neighbor, Truman Capote? Yes, the author of In Cold Blood. Santopietro goes behind the curtain and meticulously covers, discusses and critiques the movie. Recounting each scene in near mind-bending detail. Readers will learn film-makers often go way beyond the extra mile to get a scene not just right, but perfect. All that hard work is often lost on popcorn munching movie-goers. After reading Why TKAM Matters I will be watching and listening for all the little nuances this book pointed out.
To Kill A Mockingbird was originally published in 1960, instantly shooting to the top of best-seller lists. The adaptation by Hollywood quickly followed two years later. If numbers represent relevance, the annual sale of 750,000 copies of To Kill A Mockingbird may just reveal more about the current atmosphere of race relations than it does about simply reading an infamous work of literature.
Why To Kill A Mockingbird Matters is very well written, insightful, and highly entertaining. In the final pages, Santopietro reveals inside information and discusses, in-depthly, the back and forths surrounding Go Set A Watchman. Published, unedited by Harper Collins in July 2015, mere months before the death of author Harper Lee. Again Lee's work resulted in controversy. Many questioned the author's mental ability to understand what was happening. Others question how such a work could have gone "undiscovered" for half a century. Santopietro follows every lead - details every conversation.
Tom Santopietro has delivered an unflinching, brilliantly researched novel. He did his homework for sure! Why To Kill A Mockingbird Matters has been asked for nearly sixty years. Is it art imitating life or life disguised as art? That's up to the individual. Whether you loved the original book, hated it, or have never read it, you will enjoy this one. Tom Santopietro's novel is yet another nod to Harper Lee's words. It also serves as a reminder to young and old alike, we have much left to do before we achieve liberty and justice for all.
Happy Reading,
May 18, 2018
I've enjoyed Tom Santopietro's books about the movies and the stars (The Sound of Music Story, Considering Doris Day, etc.), so I was looking forward to his treatment of To Kill a Mockingbird. I have to give him credit, he tackled all the controversial aspects of the book and the movie and didn't shy away from discussing them from all angles.
The first part of the book details Harper Lee's life and her writing of the novel. Following the "discovery" of Go Set a Watchman, we all learned many of the details he writes about here, but there's still a few tidbits I didn't know about. The movie then takes up the bulk of the book, and then there's some film and literary criticism.
As usual, Santopietro includes lots of interesting facts such as who was considered for the big roles (Atticus Finch -- Spencer Tracy, Robert Wagner(!), how everyone got along on the set, why Harper Lee didn't write the screenplay, and what happened to the cast following the massive success of the movie.
Where the book gets bogged down, in my opinion, is the serious discussion of whether To Kill a Mockingbird (book and film) is racist, why it has resonated for so many years, and if it still has the power to do so. It seems clear from the book's title that Santopietro wanted to make the case that the story is important and relevant, and I had never questioned that...until I read this book. Surely the time has come and gone that a hero against racism is a white man who, while admirable in his intentions, fails to win acquittal for his client and then fails to prevent him from being murdered. The black characters in the story have virtually no power at all to exert. In To Kill a Mockingbird, the black characters are just sketches, not fully developed, although in Go Set a Watchman, we see Calpurnia in her own home, shockingly failing to be grateful to her white employers.
While I did not agree with all of Santopietro's analysis of movie and novel, I very much enjoyed having my own opinions rearranged through reading this book.
(Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for a digital review copy.)
The first part of the book details Harper Lee's life and her writing of the novel. Following the "discovery" of Go Set a Watchman, we all learned many of the details he writes about here, but there's still a few tidbits I didn't know about. The movie then takes up the bulk of the book, and then there's some film and literary criticism.
As usual, Santopietro includes lots of interesting facts such as who was considered for the big roles (Atticus Finch -- Spencer Tracy, Robert Wagner(!), how everyone got along on the set, why Harper Lee didn't write the screenplay, and what happened to the cast following the massive success of the movie.
Where the book gets bogged down, in my opinion, is the serious discussion of whether To Kill a Mockingbird (book and film) is racist, why it has resonated for so many years, and if it still has the power to do so. It seems clear from the book's title that Santopietro wanted to make the case that the story is important and relevant, and I had never questioned that...until I read this book. Surely the time has come and gone that a hero against racism is a white man who, while admirable in his intentions, fails to win acquittal for his client and then fails to prevent him from being murdered. The black characters in the story have virtually no power at all to exert. In To Kill a Mockingbird, the black characters are just sketches, not fully developed, although in Go Set a Watchman, we see Calpurnia in her own home, shockingly failing to be grateful to her white employers.
While I did not agree with all of Santopietro's analysis of movie and novel, I very much enjoyed having my own opinions rearranged through reading this book.
(Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for a digital review copy.)
February 4, 2019
If only this book was called More Information About the Book and Movie.
I love To Kill A Mockingbird so the cover caught my eye on the library shelf. The book was on the Black History Month table. I was confused because TKAM is by a white person about white people that react to black people. So I thought the author of this book could be black. Checked the back cover. Nope.
Since I love TKAM I checked it out anyway.
The book is a detailed history, primarily of the movie and those involved with the making of the movie. I learned some new information as someone who already knew quite a bit. Hence the 2 stars.
I first read TKAM as a young child. My relationship to the book is that of a tom boy misfit with an older brother. We played similar games and did a somewhat decent job of raising ourselves. We didn't have an Atticus so I borrowed Scout's. I wasn't from the south so that bit was confusing but charming, like folk tales from other countries. I did have to explore some dirty truths in the book, and I needed that.
I always cry at the end when Scout is standing in Boo's skin on his porch and watching herself from a different perspective. But, like Scout, I can go back home and face the hard truths of others on my own time.
The picture of privilege is that we need our Harper Lees before we can face our James Baldwins and have the option to do neither.
I will always love TKAM for Scout and the beautiful prose, and that's why TKAM still matters to me.
I almost had to throw out all the stars when the author says boys like Scout because she's not like simpering dress wearing girls. My daughter is a dress wearing tiara flaunting pink polished princess with a gifted intellect in science and math and hell of an arm for throwing any shaped ball. You don't get to toss off a stereotype by feeding another.
I love To Kill A Mockingbird so the cover caught my eye on the library shelf. The book was on the Black History Month table. I was confused because TKAM is by a white person about white people that react to black people. So I thought the author of this book could be black. Checked the back cover. Nope.
Since I love TKAM I checked it out anyway.
The book is a detailed history, primarily of the movie and those involved with the making of the movie. I learned some new information as someone who already knew quite a bit. Hence the 2 stars.
I first read TKAM as a young child. My relationship to the book is that of a tom boy misfit with an older brother. We played similar games and did a somewhat decent job of raising ourselves. We didn't have an Atticus so I borrowed Scout's. I wasn't from the south so that bit was confusing but charming, like folk tales from other countries. I did have to explore some dirty truths in the book, and I needed that.
I always cry at the end when Scout is standing in Boo's skin on his porch and watching herself from a different perspective. But, like Scout, I can go back home and face the hard truths of others on my own time.
The picture of privilege is that we need our Harper Lees before we can face our James Baldwins and have the option to do neither.
I will always love TKAM for Scout and the beautiful prose, and that's why TKAM still matters to me.
I almost had to throw out all the stars when the author says boys like Scout because she's not like simpering dress wearing girls. My daughter is a dress wearing tiara flaunting pink polished princess with a gifted intellect in science and math and hell of an arm for throwing any shaped ball. You don't get to toss off a stereotype by feeding another.
May 29, 2018
I won this book through GoodReads First Read program.
I had never read TKAM nor had I seen the movie before winning this book. I figured it was a sign that I needed to do so. I read the book and watched the movie before reading this book which takes a deeper dive into both the book and the movie.
In this book we learn more about Nelle Harper Lee and how TKAM was basically based on her childhood growing up in Monroeville, Alabama. It was fun to see how Truman Capote was really the Dill character. Atticus was based on her father. Lots of unknown little facts about Lee are given.
We then get a glimpse into the casting of the movie which of course is Gregory Peck's most well known performance as Atticus Finch. We get a review of each person involved in the making of the movie from the actors to the production crew. We also learn of the success of both the book and the movie in the early 1960's.
Finally we see how and why Lee never wrote another sequel over the many years and how she avoided publicity at all costs. Then the transcript of "Go Set A Watchman" was found. We learn of its origin and why some wanted it published while others did not.
Interesting book with the only criticism I have for it was that it became too political at the end. The book praises Obama and Hillary Clinton which made me tend to discount some of the other things Santopietro set out previously. That isn't fair but his rose colored political view of the left wing made me question his objectivity.
I had never read TKAM nor had I seen the movie before winning this book. I figured it was a sign that I needed to do so. I read the book and watched the movie before reading this book which takes a deeper dive into both the book and the movie.
In this book we learn more about Nelle Harper Lee and how TKAM was basically based on her childhood growing up in Monroeville, Alabama. It was fun to see how Truman Capote was really the Dill character. Atticus was based on her father. Lots of unknown little facts about Lee are given.
We then get a glimpse into the casting of the movie which of course is Gregory Peck's most well known performance as Atticus Finch. We get a review of each person involved in the making of the movie from the actors to the production crew. We also learn of the success of both the book and the movie in the early 1960's.
Finally we see how and why Lee never wrote another sequel over the many years and how she avoided publicity at all costs. Then the transcript of "Go Set A Watchman" was found. We learn of its origin and why some wanted it published while others did not.
Interesting book with the only criticism I have for it was that it became too political at the end. The book praises Obama and Hillary Clinton which made me tend to discount some of the other things Santopietro set out previously. That isn't fair but his rose colored political view of the left wing made me question his objectivity.
October 21, 2018
Tom Santopietro has written a book that is part biography, part literary history, part theatrical history and part literary study. He tells the story of how To Kill a Mockingbird came to be, then history of the movie. He writes about Go Set a Watchman.
Through all of this, he writes about the impact each had on society. There was a lot I did not know and I appreciated learning it. There are places where the information he put together truly touched me.
About Alan Pakula, who produced the movie: "He identified with Scout's determination not to live anyone else's version of her life: "I have known many people who have been so conditioned that they never, even as old people, act as themselves-acting always in terms of 'How am I expected to act by those controlling my life'".
That's a longtime issue in my life.
"Are you old enough to remember when people were less ignorant? I am." Harper Lee in a 2005 letter to Wayne Flynt.
I made so many notes and marked so many pages, but they were in response to things the author was reporting on and not his opinions. They aren't really important here, but this book made me think just as much as both To Kill a Mockingbird and Go Set a Watchman.
Through all of this, he writes about the impact each had on society. There was a lot I did not know and I appreciated learning it. There are places where the information he put together truly touched me.
About Alan Pakula, who produced the movie: "He identified with Scout's determination not to live anyone else's version of her life: "I have known many people who have been so conditioned that they never, even as old people, act as themselves-acting always in terms of 'How am I expected to act by those controlling my life'".
That's a longtime issue in my life.
"Are you old enough to remember when people were less ignorant? I am." Harper Lee in a 2005 letter to Wayne Flynt.
I made so many notes and marked so many pages, but they were in response to things the author was reporting on and not his opinions. They aren't really important here, but this book made me think just as much as both To Kill a Mockingbird and Go Set a Watchman.
June 27, 2023
3.5 rounded up
I found this book in a To Kill a Mockingbird themed tea/coffee/book shop in Park City (shout out to Atticus - you came in clutch when I needed to study while on my honeymoon and are a complete vibe).
I wish this book had focused more on the book - it felt like so much attention was paid on the movie, but the author is a classic film prof so I wasn't too surprised by the focus. I learned so much about one of my favorite books that I had never heard before. I learned why "Go Set a Watchman" wasn't as good as the first book - it is essential for telling the story, but it (unfortunately) did not get as great of editing because the team behind it banked on it being a Harper Lee story.
I loved hearing how the production team took such diligent care to create the movie and now I really want to watch the whole movie (I've only seen clips when I studied this book in high school).
Overall, a great read and it definitely made me think about how I would teach this book if I chose to homeschool my kiddos and use this book - or just how to talk about this book with kids (my own or library ones).
I found this book in a To Kill a Mockingbird themed tea/coffee/book shop in Park City (shout out to Atticus - you came in clutch when I needed to study while on my honeymoon and are a complete vibe).
I wish this book had focused more on the book - it felt like so much attention was paid on the movie, but the author is a classic film prof so I wasn't too surprised by the focus. I learned so much about one of my favorite books that I had never heard before. I learned why "Go Set a Watchman" wasn't as good as the first book - it is essential for telling the story, but it (unfortunately) did not get as great of editing because the team behind it banked on it being a Harper Lee story.
I loved hearing how the production team took such diligent care to create the movie and now I really want to watch the whole movie (I've only seen clips when I studied this book in high school).
Overall, a great read and it definitely made me think about how I would teach this book if I chose to homeschool my kiddos and use this book - or just how to talk about this book with kids (my own or library ones).
January 20, 2019
Don’t have to tell you what this book is about, now do I? Does it satisfy us with its answers to those questions is what we want to know, I suppose. From the accessibility of Harper Lee’s beautiful book to its timing in relation to the civil rights movement, from the perfect casting of the movie and its quiet intensity, we are encouraged and provoked by the literal and the figurative, delighted and horrified, and, of course, of course, we have never been the same. Mr. Santopietro’s book is not only scholarly and thoughtful, but, an added bonus, it is a delightful read as well.
Full Disclosure: A review copy of this book was provided to me by St. Martin's Press via NetGalley. I would like to thank the publisher and the author for providing me this opportunity. All opinions expressed herein are my own.
Full Disclosure: A review copy of this book was provided to me by St. Martin's Press via NetGalley. I would like to thank the publisher and the author for providing me this opportunity. All opinions expressed herein are my own.
April 26, 2018
This book had a LOT of information about Harper Lee and To Kill a Mockingbird. I felt like I probably should have re-read To Kill a Mockingbird and probably read Go Set A Watchman before I started this book. I did appreciate the history, not just of TKAM but also of Harper Lee and everything that had happened in her life. I was completely unaware that GSAW was written as her original book and was just left in a safe deposit box for several decades. The book did also put a great perspective on how WTKAM still matters, it has been a long time since I have read the book and I just remember thinking I was reading a book set a long time ago. Looking back on it, today everything that Harper Lee had set out to change and make America aware of so long ago, still applies in everyday life.
August 19, 2018
I got 40 pages in before I decided that life is too short to spend any portion of it reading this book.
I can't stand the writing. It reads like a high-school kid trying to write a doctoral thesis. There are lots of big words chained together into clunky sentences. And there are sentence fragments. So very many sentence fragments. Sentences that aren't sentences at all. All through the book. I know, I know -- I'm being pedantic. But GEEZ this style makes for a choppy read and I don't enjoy that at all.
I'm sure this is a meticulously researched book, but I'm done. I've already read "Scout, Atticus and Boo", and you should too.
I can't stand the writing. It reads like a high-school kid trying to write a doctoral thesis. There are lots of big words chained together into clunky sentences. And there are sentence fragments. So very many sentence fragments. Sentences that aren't sentences at all. All through the book. I know, I know -- I'm being pedantic. But GEEZ this style makes for a choppy read and I don't enjoy that at all.
I'm sure this is a meticulously researched book, but I'm done. I've already read "Scout, Atticus and Boo", and you should too.
March 29, 2021
Much like Joseph Crespino's book Atticus, Why to Kill a Mockingbird Matters is more history than analysis. Thoroughly footnoted, it is essentially the story of how To Kill a Mockingbird became a Pulitzer prize winner and then a film adaptation, with a few chapters of actual analysis scattered in. It retreads much of the same territory as Shields's Mockingbird biography, though some fun new anecdotes from other sources are included as well. As a history, it's useful, especially since it delves into aspects of the book's publication and film adaptation that Mockingbird did not cover. As an actual analysis of why the book continues to matter, however, it is underdeveloped.
September 14, 2018
I picked this up from the library (where it had just arrived as a “New Book”) because I feel that race still matters an awfully lot - and I remember the book as ground breaking. This book illuminates the life of Harper Lee - and even Truman Capote - while it also explicates the film starring Gregory Peck (whom I’d met just once), both in the context of their time and in ours. Wonderful! I’m going to read Lee’s book next - but thanks to NETFLIX I’ve already watched the movie twice in the last four days! The Santopietro’s book was a great read-along!
September 1, 2018
The author examines the writing of the book, the making of the film and the fact that given our current national climate both are still relevant and important today. There are some great inside stories about the making of the film, from the casting process to the final cut. There’s also a discussion of Go Set a Watchman and what it may have meant as far as Harper Lee’s further views of the racial divide in her beloved South. I enjoyed this book as it is a really good study of my favorite book and movie of all time.
October 10, 2019
Hmm.....I wanted more of out of this book. I have been sitting on my review for several days, trying to figure out my thoughts. Only I still don't know what to make of them.
I adore To Kill a Mockingbird and Atticus Finch. Gregory Peck absolutely epitomizes the lawyer! So I loved highlights and such from the making of the movie. And I enjoyed learning more about Harper Lee and her friendship with Truman Capote. But as to everything else......it just got LONG. And bordered on redundant to me.
I adore To Kill a Mockingbird and Atticus Finch. Gregory Peck absolutely epitomizes the lawyer! So I loved highlights and such from the making of the movie. And I enjoyed learning more about Harper Lee and her friendship with Truman Capote. But as to everything else......it just got LONG. And bordered on redundant to me.
September 15, 2024
I enjoyed reading about the writing of the book and the making of the film. I thought the content of the book didn’t really live up to the promise of its title. One thing that seemed strange was that an early chapter described how HL started out writing Go Set A Watchman and through the editing process it became To Kill A Mockingbird, but then in a later chapter the author seems to imply that it was a sequel. Possible I misread but I don’t think so.
April 30, 2018
This is a Goodreads First Reads review.
Santopietro provides a thorough look at Harper Lee’s most famous work. He starts out with Ms. Lee herself, with a childhood that closely resembled Scout’s and follows that with the publication and resultant exaltations. Then the story shifts to the film with insightful biographies of the cast and crew. This will be a sublime read for book lovers.
Santopietro provides a thorough look at Harper Lee’s most famous work. He starts out with Ms. Lee herself, with a childhood that closely resembled Scout’s and follows that with the publication and resultant exaltations. Then the story shifts to the film with insightful biographies of the cast and crew. This will be a sublime read for book lovers.
August 2, 2018
This may not be the official, definitive book about TKAM, but it certainly is the most comprehensive. Everything you wanted to know about To Kill a Mockingbird. It covers the author, the writing process, the publishing, the response, the movie, the sequel, even what happened to the cast and crew of the movie in subsequent years.
December 11, 2018
This book has some interesting details of the story of the book and the film. It also make some good points about its significance (as indicated by the title). I do think it was a bit disjointed, wandering away from the main point into biographies (though I found them interesting) and become a bit repetitious in places.
May 6, 2020
“I just love it when an author repeatedly sticks in his own personal political views.”— No one ever. Like ever.
I thought the things he wrote about TKaM were pretty good, but he kept spoiling his own points by bringing up his own personal views.
He also devoted a good chunk of the book to discussing the movie, and I would have preferred he stick more with the book.
I thought the things he wrote about TKaM were pretty good, but he kept spoiling his own points by bringing up his own personal views.
He also devoted a good chunk of the book to discussing the movie, and I would have preferred he stick more with the book.
September 22, 2018
Most enjoyable read and informative. TKAM is a good book, but written by a flawed human being who reminds us we all are flawed and yet can still grow and develop compassion and empathy. A new hero emerges, as well: Horton Foote.
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