Why To kill a mockingbird matters : what Harper Lee's book and the iconic American film mean to us today / Tom Santopietro.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [239]-291) and index.

Monroeville, Alabama -- Manhattan -- Publication -- What price Hollywood? -- Atticus Finch on film -- Enter Horton Foote -- Casting the movie -- From Pulitzer Prize to Hollywood dream team -- Maycomb comes to life -- On screens around the world -- A straight shot to the heart -- Is To kill a mockingbird racist? -- The legend grows: Harper Lee's fifty-five years of silence -- Life after To kill a mockingbird -- Go set a watchman -- Theme and variations: everything old is new again -- At peace.

"With forty 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 ... 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 both the claims that Lee's book is actually racist and the worldwidecontroversy surrounding the 2015 publication of Go set a watchman. Here too, for the first time, is the full behind-the-scenes story regarding the creation of the 1962 film, one that has 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 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."--Dust jacket.