To Kill a Mockingbird, the twentieth century's most widely read American novel, still sells a million copies yearly. Yet despite the book's perennial popularity, its creator remains a somewhat mysterious figure. Journalist Shields brings to life the warmhearted, high-spirited, and occasionally hardheaded woman who gave us two of American literature's most unforgettable characters--Atticus Finch and his daughter, Scout--and who contributed to the success...

Readings of excerpts from and critical analysis of Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club, a novel about four mothers, four daughters, and four families whose paths cross in 1949 in San Francisco as four Chinese women begin meeting to eat dim sum, play mahjong, and talk.