welcome back to the lead. i m john berman in for jake tapper. in our pop lead today, the wait is over. go set a watchman, the recently discovered harper lee manuscript is available today as an actual book. 55 years after the publication of to kill a mockingbird, the new book raising questions about the classic characters found in mockingbird, particularly atticus finch. go set a watchman has renewed interest and scrutiny in the famously reclusive author as well. cnn s correspondent ed lavandera in lee s hometown monroeville, alabama. reporter: no one here ever expected to read another word that harper lee had written or expected to have a book like this in their hands. we learned today from a friend close to her that there might be some more writings still out there. the frenzy over harper lee s
do it. come on! yes! awww, yes! that is what i m talking about. baby. call and upgrade to get x1 today. welcome back to the lead. i m john berman in for jake tapper. more on our pop lead harper lee s second book, go set a watchman, came out today. 55 years after the pulitzer prize-winning to kill a mockingbird blazed into the american literary scene, the new book which is set after mockingbird but written before is raising new questions about these characters especially atticus. for more now on harper lee and go set a watchman, i m joined by charles shields, author of the biography mockingbird a portrait of harper lee and mary murphy director of the
to the original book. of course and as you mentioned, go set a watchman was written before mockingbird , so why did harper lee remain silent for so many years? that is a mystery that will always be with us. and perhaps people who read the book and then review the book will have their theories about that. she seemed very content for a long time to have that be her one and only book. now her legacy really, is reopened and maybe opened to revision as we read this second book. and there were hints yesterday about maybe a third manuscript. it s all quite mysterious. there have been a lot of questions about whether the 89-year-old author wants this to be published at all. but her representatives say she does. and one person i know who was able to visit with harper lee recently a film maker, said that harper affirmed she does want this released. a real mystery surrounding this
all time with preorders through the roof. harper lee s second novel, go set a watchman comes out. lee is best known for her pulitzer prizewinning 1960 novel to kill a mockingbird. the book is hailed as an american classic in part because of the treatment of the country s racial tensions. interestingly enough lee wrote her new novel before she wrote mockingbird, but it s only being released now. early reviews reveal that the new book has a shocking twist for one of the best-loved characters for to kill a mockingbird. we don t want to give it away. but we re about to. and why it took so long to bring the book to light. since atlanta, she had looked
to harper lee s to kill a mockingbird the book has a shocking twist for one of the best-loved characters from to kill a mockingbird. reporter: since atlanta she had looked out the dining car window with a delight almost physical. over her breakfast coffee she last of georgia s hills recede. the first words of harper lee s go set a watchman it s actually one of the first drafts of to kill a mockingbird. harper lee wrote while living on this stretch of road in new york s upper east side in the 1950s. go set a watchman may reset her legacy.