what did you learn about harper lee and her reasons? >> well, i was fortunate enough to get great access to two very close friends of her. a new york city couple who gave their friend, harper lee, money. they remain very, very close dear friends to this day. the other person i was also very privileged and fortunate to talk to was alice finch, harper lee's older sister. alice is one of the first women in alabama who was ever admitted to the bar. she -- at 99 she's the oldest practicing attorney in the state. she continues to practice every day, and she hopes to celebrate her 100th birthday in september at her law desk. she was quite a character and told me quite a bit about how the lee girls were raised. and her answer to that question is, she quoted her sister saying, she couldn't top what she had done. she had nowhere to go but down. and i think the combination of this kind of overwhelming thing, the somewhat autobiographical nature of what was written about and not to disappoint yourself let alone the other people out there waiting fo

harper lee hasn't given an interview since 1964, it not be the person who would change her mind. so when i started doing my own documentary, which is about -- i started it about six years ago, i read the novel again, i did a little more reporting, especially about, you know, the summer of 1960 when the novel was published. and i began to see the story i could tell was the story of the novel. not so much the novelist. and the credible impact that the novel had on the civil rights movement, on lives, on careers and on readers to this very day. so that to me seemed to be the story worth telling and that's when i started working on the documentary. >> and sort of tell us how did you arrive at your understanding of the impact that the book has had, particularly on race relations and, you know, the -- so many people cite the book as a reason why they went to law school. why do you think that's true, particularly in light of the fact that atticus lost the case? >> well, i mean, it is true that in the research i've done many people did say that atticus finch is the reason that they went

. >> harper lee's first and only novel. >> a masterpiece is masterpieces not because they're flawless but because they tap into something essential to us, at the heart of who we are and how -- >> a masterpiece and a mystery. >> of course, one kept hoping and waiting for the next novel. sadly, that never came. >> i cannot imagine what drove harper to silence. >> thank you. i prefer to pass. >> what did you say? >> well, i have nothing relevant to say concerning the case. however, when i have something relevant to say i shall raise my hand. >> stepped on you. >> serious doubt about your becoming a mother. [laughter]

the spy and of course harper lee who wrote "to kill a mockingbird." those really shaped my life.i was very affected by billie jean king. that was a famous tennis match and 73 that i watched. shirley chisholm. my mother took me to hear her when she ran for president in 72. i heard her speak at the university. i was very much aware that a black one was running for president is very frosted they could not out yet. later on i was very impressed by the emerging doses, authors. but also i had globally in terms of jewish women who had been resistance fighters in the holocaust and the memoirists who wrote about the struggle for women to tell their stories in a female voice and nationally i majored in jewish history as an undergrad who lived in israel for a year. some kind of all over the place in terms of survivors, those unafraid to speak. those who were able to use the written word the way a hope to one day. >> host: contemporarily, who are some of your heroes? >> guest: and again he would have on the wall of my office click donna brazil who is my office mate. georgetown. certainly, hi

when i finished mockingbird:a portrait of harper lee and was looking around for another subject i wanted to know who hasn't had a biography written about him or her? and who had a big impact on people my age? kurt vonnegut came to mind right away and i was surprised that he had never had a biography written about him and it turned out he was a little miffed that nobody had ever taken the time. half a century of writing and 14 books in print and nobody had ever written a biography of him. i wanted to find out who was kurt vonnegut, the author of a book that became so popular so suddenly because he was out of print as i say in the prologue and by 1970 had a body of work that was self defeated from the ash heap like god bless you, mr. rosewater and tyrants of titan and catch's cradle. he had a lot of work suddenly whereas before he had been just somebody who wrote paperback books that ends up in drugstores and bus stations next to mr. lucky and conan the barbarian. suddenly he is the next great literary thing. >> you can watch this and other programs at booktv.org. >> next phillip boyce sai

and, of course, harper lee who wrote to kill a mockingbird. those two books really shaped my life. i was very affected by billy jean king beating bobby rigs that was, of course, a famous tennis match in the 1970s that i watched. shirley chisholm when she ran for president in '72. i heard her speak at duke university. i was very aware that a black woman was running for president and i was very frustrated and i could not vote yet. later on, i was very impressed by the emerging voices of lesbian authors, rita may brown, audrian rich but also i had an interest in what was going on globally in terms of jewish women who had been resistance fighters in the holocaust and then the memoirist who wrote about the struggle for women to tell their stories in a female voice and initially i majored in jewish history as an undergrad and lived in israel for a year. so i'm kind of all over the place in terms of survivors, those unafraid to speak, those who were able to use the written words the way i hoped today. .. >> guest: i am a big fan of the women who have done a lot of work building the nation

so when i finished mockingbird, a portrait of harper lee and i was looking around for another subject for a biography, first of all, i wanted to know who hasn't add biography written about him or her? and who had a big impact on people my age. well, kurt

lee has never commanded anything more than two companies of marines at harper's ferry on act 16th, 1859, when they stormed the fire engine house and captured five rebels commanded by john brown. harper's ferry, 1859. now, maybe commanding two companies of marines is all you need. the marines contend that way anyway. but here is lee confronting 105,000 yankees who are in the suburbs of richmond. and what did he do? he set his men to work digging trenches, field fortifications. and so this man who had been called granny lee, the overcautious, is now known as the king of spades because all he wants to do is have these trained killers, these warriors, dig ditches with shovels with picks and things and that's not much fun. but that's what soldiers do! and lee points that out. what he wants to do and what he did was to hold richmond with 25,000 troops, fall upon mcclellan's flank which he discovered was exposed by way of stewart's dramatic ride around mcclellan, the raid in june 12-15, 12th through the 15th of 1862. and he's going to fall upon mcclellan's flank with 45,000 troops. and then he

lee has never commanded anything more than two companies of marines at harper's ferry on act 16th, 1859, when they stormed the fire engine house and captured five rebels commanded by john brown. harper's ferry, 1859. now, maybe commanding two companies of marines is all you need. the marines contend that way anyway. but here is lee confronting 105,000 yes