To Kill a Mocking Bird (Book Review)

It seems appropriate that I finished this book the same day that we heard in the UK that America had elected its first black President. If anyone doesn’t see the importance of Barack Obama’s rise to power, they should read this book to see how far the nation has come.

This book sits uncomfortably with the usual age categories prescribed to fiction; it is narrated by a little girl so on the surface appears to be a children’s book, but the material is far darker than most children would be allowed to read. So why does Harper Lee choose to tell her story through a child? The answer becomes apparent throughout the novel – in a 1930’s American town full of hypocrisy and prejudice, only the children have minds pure enough to see injustice for what it is. The narrative also lends the story a ‘morality tale’ feeling, without it becoming preachy or self-righteous.

This novel has become one of my favourites already, and one I will definitely be lending to my future children when they’re old enough to appreciate it. I really recommend it to anyone who wants to understand American history better, or who just like a good story.

What is Mozilla?

We’re a global community

   of thousands who sincerely believe in the power of technology to enrich people’s lives.

We’re a public benefit organization

   dedicated not to making money but to improving the way people everywhere experience the Internet.

And we’re an open source software project

   whose code has been used as a platform for some of the Internet’s most innovative projects.

The common thread that runs throughout Mozilla is our belief that, as the most significant soci

al and technological development of our time, the Internet is a public resource that must remain open and accessible to all. With this in mind, our efforts are ultimately driven by our mission of encouraging choice, innovation and opportunity online.
   To achieve these goals, we use a highly transparent, extremely collaborative process that brings together thousands of dedicated volunteers around the world with our small staff of employees to coordinate the creation of products like the Firefox web browser. This process is supported by the Mozilla Corporation, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the non-profit Mozilla Foundation.
   In the end, the Mozilla community, organization and technology is all focused on a single goal: making the Internet better for everyone.