Editorial | 'To Kill a Mockingbird' at 50

[discocrisco01]

Source: Louisville Courier - Journal

Fifty years ago, on July 11, 1960, Harper Lee's first (and so far only) novel appeared in bookstores across America. To Kill a Mockingbird became an instant success, both critically and commercially, and it went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction the following spring.



The timing of its publication was dead on: The Civil Rights Movement was marching to the front burner of the nation's attention, and Miss Lee's story of racial injustice in Depression-era Alabama struck the nation's heart, and its conscience. Two years later, a film adaptation starring Gregory Peck made the story even better known, and, like the novel, it is now considered a classic.
Told from the perspective of a small girl, To Kill a Mockingbird is full of simple wisdom, sadness and insight. The hero is the child's father, Atticus Finch, a high-minded lawyer and widower whose views on race run right into the Jim Crow world in which he practices

Read more at http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20100711/OPINION01/7110316

[nosmokes]

1. 'Mockingbird' is THE great American novel, encompassing our faults and

our attributes in a light shows the human condition as it is, and how we hope to improve upon it.

On a side note, if you're ever in the vicinity of Monroeville, Alabama, Harper Lee's hometown, do yourself a favor and have a bite at Radley's(yes, as in Boo) Cafe. I had a bowl of seafood gumbo there on my recent visit and it was as good as any I've ever had.The catfish was pretty damn tasty too.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

4. It was THE book that made my childhood.

It really covers everything you need to know to be a good human being. I make a point of reading it at least once a year.

[mdmc]

2. 1

[Ezlivin]

3. Michael Bay is making a sequel

Megan Fox will star as the now grown-up Scout with Matthew McConaughey playing her brother Jem.

Right now they are still choosing actors to play the aged Atticus Finch. Names floated have been Harrison Ford and Morgan Freeman.

The plot takes up after a large meteor strikes Maycomb County...