First in To Kill a Mockingbird and fifty-five years later with Go Set a Watchman, Harper Lee's beloved characters resonate with readers long after the books are finished. To Kill a Mockingbird, published in July 1960, has become a touchstone in American literary and social history. It may well be our national novel.

With Scout, Atticus & Boo, Mary McDonagh Murphy commemorates more than half a century of To Kill a Mockingbird by exploring the novel's history and influence. In compelling interviews, Anna Quindlen, Tom Brokaw, Oprah Winfrey, James Patterson, James McBride, Scott Turow, Wally Lamb, Andrew Young, Richard Russo, Adriana Trigiani, Rick Bragg, Jon Meacham, Allan Gurganus, Diane McWhorter, Lee Smith, Rosanne Cash, and others reflect on their own personal connections to Lee's masterpiece, what it means to them?then and now?and how it has affected their lives and careers.