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Liked It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “A very well done biography that sheds light on the person that Harper Lee is but also respects her privacy. That is something rare these days.” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“Great to read this right after finishing To Kill A Mockingbird.”
Jonathan B wrote this review Sunday, November 8 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Fascinating, especially to a fan of To Kill A Mockingbird. If you know that story very well, you will learn where much of Lee's inspiration came from. No wonder she never wrote another book.”
Mary F wrote this review Sunday, October 25 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“It is apparent Mr. Shields did lengthy research on this book. None of the information in this book came directly from Ms. Lee to Mr. Smith. I enjoyed learning more about Haprer Lee. I grew up 60 miles north west of her hometown of Monroeville, AL. Excellent job of capturing Monroeville and the joys of living in a small southern town.
Linda wrote this review Sunday, October 25 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
With the success of To Kill A Mockingbird came loss of her anonymity which distressed her. She disliked publicity and did not enjoy participating in the literary scene. She continues to reside in Monroeville, AL today and is 83. Very interesting book that reveals an in depth look at Harper Lee and why there was no second novel.”
“Very interesting. I enjoyed it. Especially since I enjoyed TKAM so much.”
Mary M wrote this review Sunday, October 18 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“An interesting read because of the subject matter, but this biography is merely competant. One does get a sense of Lee and also of Capote, but there is nothing earth-shattering here. Virtually nothing is said about her love life or lack of it; there is no examination of her sexuality. Shields doesn't conjecture much; he mostly just reports the facts. This is good and bad. He does seem to genuinely like Lee and to admire her. Grade: B”
Anne S wrote this review Sunday, October 4 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Well researched though I doubt there are many sources that give the same information. I found the beginning drawn out and filled with odd information, surely great for Lee enthusiasts. It did yield key information to my appeal, how does her life relate to her single work. ”
Julia K wrote this review Sunday, September 20 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
1 of 1 members found this review helpful“Because I taught To Kill a Mockingbird to freshmen for three decades, I was always on the look out for information about the book's author, but discovering information about Harper Lee is like panning for gold - it takes lots of work before you find even a few new nuggets. I wouldn't call this unauthorized biography of the reclusive Miss Lee gold, but I was interested in the bits he found that were new to me, about her family life, her personality in college, and the possible reasons she never published another novel after TKAM. The writing is only average, on a par with many magazine articles, and because Lee did not cooperate with Shields on the content, some of it seems to be speculative, a conclusion bolstered by some factual errors I caught. Still, I never gave up on Mockingbird, and wish I had some of this information while I was still teaching.”
sthurner wrote this review Sunday, August 23 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No1 of 1 members found this review helpful“A very well done biography that sheds light on the person that Harper Lee is but also respects her privacy. That is something rare these days.”
Morrigan F wrote this review Saturday, July 18 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Good research from a very reluctant author.”
Ron W wrote this review Monday, June 15 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
