Eight Books That Made Me

Sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild presents the books that inspired and informed her professional interest in crossing "empathy walls," from the work of C. Wright Mills, who connected personal troubles with public issues, to W. J. Cash's Mind of the South, a predecessor to her own work exploring Southern identity. Reflecting on George Orwell's inspiring essays on writing, Hochschild also touches on the theory behind her on-the-ground sociological research and discusses her recent book, Strangers in Their Own Land: Fear and Mourning on the American Right.

Poet and veteran Brian Turner musters his list of eight formative books, offering his unique take on classics like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and the war stories Cross of Iron and Slaughterhouse Five, and delights our host by introducing her to Ismail Kadare's lyric tale of oppressive bureaucracy, The Palace of Dreams.

Psychology professor Stephen Hinshaw, author of Another Kind of Madness, a memoir of mental illness in his own family, discusses the books closest to his heart. Some deal directly with mental illness, like Jeanette Walls' The Glass Castle and William Styron's account of his own depression, Darkness Visible. Some deal with wrenching moral dilemmas, like Beloved and Sophie's Choice. And he draws it all together with E. O. Wilson's Consilience, which seeks to unify all knowledge.

Innovative educator Ramsey Musallam highlights the books that drive him - like On the Road (that pun is free of charge). He wanders Into the Wild with Jon Krakauer and considers The Perks of Being a Wallflower with Steven Chbosky. And unlike most of us, he has even made it all the way through David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest!

Cultural critic Laura Kipnis recently found herself embroiled in a colleague's sexual harassment case. Presented with a trove of relevant documents, she dove in with the zeal of the detectives and adventurers who populate her list of formative books, from Nancy Drew to Fear of Flying - and even a little Freud.

Photographer Arthur Drooker explored the quirky world of convention-goers in his book Conventional Wisdom, and now he explores the quirky world of his own literary upbringing. Discussion ranges from coming-of-age classics like On the Road and Catcher in the Rye to Dickens, E.L. Doctorow, and ... Keith Richards?

Planetary scientist Pascal Lee's eight books include works by Jack London, Jules Verne, and Carl Sagan. Find out how these favorites inspired him to lead a life looking outward to the stars.