Growing Up With Harry

At midnight Friday, the last of the "Harry Potter" books will be unveiled and the world will learn how it all ends. The phenomenon has captured all ages and all imaginations. CBS News' Mark Phillips takes a look at how we have grown up with Harry.

Like Harry himself, the Potter generation has come of age. Harry, played by Daniel Radcliffe in the movies, was a pre-pubescent boy when he hit the big time. Now he's on a collision course with adulthood. "I don't know what will particularly change, I certainly don't think I'm going to suddenly mature," Radcliffe says.

When we first met her, author J.K. Rowling was just emerging from her penniless, single-mother-sits-scribbling-with-baby-in-Edinburgh-cafe, no-publisher-no-prospects stage. Her books were just taking off.

"I never expected the book to make me money," Rowling said in 1999. "I was totally realistic about what writing children's books involved, and that involves no money really at all. I mean most, a lot of really good children's writers I know also do other work. They have to."

Now, Forbes Magazine has called her the world's first billionaire author, and she's an A-list guest on talk shows.

"There aren't that many people who have written seven-book series, taken them 17 years. Actually finishing was most remarkable feeling I've ever had. (I) couldn't tell you which was uppermost — euphoria or feeling devastated," Rowling says.

Once, elaborate promotional stunts were used to launch the books — like a real version of the Hogwarts Express, the train that took Harry to his witchcraft and wizardry school. Now the books generate their own publicity, especially when it's the long-awaited last in the series and some of the great literary issues of our time hang in the balance.

Fans are wondering if Harry will live or die when the final page has turned. The author has been tempted; this was Rowling a year ago: "I've never been tempted to kill him, kill him off before the end of book seven. I can completely understand, however, the mentality of an author who thinks I'm going to kill them off because then there can be no non-author written sequels as they call them."

More than 300 million copies of the "Potter" books have been sold, read by kids and their parents. But is the main claim, that the Potter books have turned children on to reading, true? Not so far.

"Maybe they're reading "Harry Potter," but it doesn't mean they have become readers because of it," says Publisher Weekly's Sara Nelson.

Rowling says she got the idea for "Harry Potter" while sitting on a train. Now that glorious run is about to come to the end of the line.

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This series on Harry Potter has so much symbolism in it, one wonders where all her imagination has come from. Well done!!

The series also has meaning today as it shows terrorism in the wizarding world isn't much different than it is in the world of muggles. Voldemorte is no different than Bin Laden who gets others to do his dirty work and get themselves killed. I feel Harry Potter represents what is good in the world-love, trust, and friendship-and how we must remember that.

The series on beliefnet.com has also compared the series to the likeness of christ and satan. However, I doubt a religion would spawn from this fiction work, but then again, Christianity is also a made up religion of testimonials from different people purporting to be messengers of Christ or rather their own interpretation of what he was trying to do in his own rebellion against the rule of the Roman Empire-kill them with kindness, not a typical Jewish trait!!! This so called religion, as well as its brother religions of Islam, Buddhism, etc, has over the years been used to subjugate, terrorize with violence, and enslave other peoples all over the world and has been an excuse for men to be abusive and controling of womankind. The wizarding world in the series sounds like a better way to live.

Give me the Goddess any time )O(

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Has there ever been a book with this much free advertising from the press? This is the third Harry Pukeme article I've read today on this news site. I can't even remember 3 articles about say the war with Iraq appearing on the same day.

If there is any substance to the Hoary Petmydingus books, it is this ability to get the world's media to do free advertising for it. Truly amazing; the press has spent more promoting Hungry Putzhead than say even a presidential candidate must spend. No presidential candidate has ever had 3 CBS articles in one day, and they spend 100 million or more. Not even Hillary, that election stealer. The free press given to this commerical product probably counts in the billions of dollars at this point. Why? What is in it for the media elite? What is their game here?