Love Mirrors of Memory? Readers share 100 books like Mirrors of Memory...

By Mary Bergstein,

Here are 100 books that Mirrors of Memory fans have personally recommended if you like Mirrors of Memory. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of I Wonder as I Wander: An Autobiographical Journey

Lisa A. Kirschenbaum Author Of Soviet Adventures in the Land of the Capitalists: Ilf and Petrov's American Road Trip

From my list on Russians and Americans misunderstanding one another.

Why am I passionate about this?

As an American who writes about the history of the Soviet Union, I am constantly trying to understand people separated from me by identity, ideology, language—and time. Applying strategies for empathizing across political, cultural, and linguistic boundaries is, in many ways, the basic task of historical research. At a moment of intense political polarization, the task has become more necessary than ever. My most recent book examines this process by retracing the American journey of two Soviet travelers. Their willingness to laugh at themselves allowed them, at least sometimes, to set aside their presuppositions and see the alien land of the capitalists and the world of socialism anew.

Lisa's book list on Russians and Americans misunderstanding one another

Lisa A. Kirschenbaum Why did Lisa love this book?

The poet Langston Hughes’s autobiography engagingly recounts his travels to Cuba, Haiti, Japan, and Spain during the Civil War. The book's centerpiece is his 1931-1932 trip to the Soviet Union. He visited as part of a contingent of twenty-two African Americans hired to make a film on race relations in the United States.

The film project never panned out, but Hughes took advantage of the situation to visit Soviet Central Asia. He understood that his hosts tried too hard to convince American visitors of the progress made under the Soviet regime. But his autobiography also conveys the wonderful strangeness of being in a country officially committed to antiracism, where people of color had opportunities for education and advancement.  

By Langston Hughes,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked I Wonder as I Wander as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In I Wonder as I Wander, Langston Hughes vividly recalls the most dramatic and intimate moments of his life in the turbulent 1930s.

His wanderlust leads him to Cuba, Haiti, Russia, Soviet Central Asia, Japan, Spain (during its Civil War), through dictatorships, wars, revolutions. He meets and brings to life the famous and the humble, from Arthur Koestler to Emma, the Black Mammy of Moscow. It is the continuously amusing, wise revelation of an American writer journeying around the often strange and always exciting world he loves.


Book cover of Delusion and Dream in Wilhelm Jensen's 'Gradiva'

Maya Balakirsky-Katz Author Of Freud, Jung, and Jonah: Religion and the Birth of the Psychoanalytic Periodical

From my list on the work of contemplation and physical space.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am attracted to people and ideas that bridge the internal and external life through their art and writing. I was driven to pursue art history and psychoanalysis for this reason. In one field, we have the external object as the center of inquiry, and in the other, the Self. These books all inspired me to see the world through a new lens.

Maya's book list on the work of contemplation and physical space

Maya Balakirsky-Katz Why did Maya love this book?

Freud’s highly influential essay—reprinted in pamphlet form by bookseller Hugo Heller—argues that the Austrian author Wilhelm Jenson translated his daydreams into aesthetic form. This focus on the internal life of the author became widely influential to interwar modernism. 

I am as interested in Freud’s analysis of Jenson as an author and his central protagonist Norbert Hanold, as he idealizes the memory of a childhood loss of his beloved that he associates to the Gradiva bas-relief as I am with the establishment of Freud the critic, analyst, and writer.

Around the same time Freud first delivered this paper as a lecture at Heller’s bookstore, he provided the bookseller Hugo Heller with his personalized list of the 10 Most Influential Books that Heller used to advertise his authors and sell books.

By Sigmund Freud, Helen M Downey (translator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Delusion and Dream in Wilhelm Jensen's 'Gradiva' as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Freud's essay which subjects Jensen's novel and its protagonist to psychoanalysis was first published in 1907.


Book cover of Yuri Norstein and Tale of Tales: An Animator's Journey

Maya Balakirsky-Katz Author Of Freud, Jung, and Jonah: Religion and the Birth of the Psychoanalytic Periodical

From my list on the work of contemplation and physical space.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am attracted to people and ideas that bridge the internal and external life through their art and writing. I was driven to pursue art history and psychoanalysis for this reason. In one field, we have the external object as the center of inquiry, and in the other, the Self. These books all inspired me to see the world through a new lens.

Maya's book list on the work of contemplation and physical space

Maya Balakirsky-Katz Why did Maya love this book?

A meditative look at the inner life and social contexts of Norstein’s film Tale of Tales about a little grey wolf who wades through the realities of postwar culture as the eponymous character of a popular national lullaby. 

Kitson’s recovery of the material and spiritual biography of a Soviet auteur showed me the way to my own work on the Jewish labor force in Soviet animation. 

By Clare Kitson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Yuri Norstein and Tale of Tales as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Tale of Tales fuses Yuri Norstein's memories of his past and hopes and fears for the future. This book examines the passage of these motifs into the film but it also looks into later influences that affected it.


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Book cover of Tap Dancing on Everest: A Young Doctor's Unlikely Adventure

Tap Dancing on Everest by Mimi Zieman,

Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctor—and only woman—on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.

The team attempts a new route up…

Book cover of The Sacred Gaze: Religious Visual Culture in Theory and Practice

Maya Balakirsky-Katz Author Of Freud, Jung, and Jonah: Religion and the Birth of the Psychoanalytic Periodical

From my list on the work of contemplation and physical space.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am attracted to people and ideas that bridge the internal and external life through their art and writing. I was driven to pursue art history and psychoanalysis for this reason. In one field, we have the external object as the center of inquiry, and in the other, the Self. These books all inspired me to see the world through a new lens.

Maya's book list on the work of contemplation and physical space

Maya Balakirsky-Katz Why did Maya love this book?

Morgan illuminates and analyzes the visual culture of religion that scholars have neglected to consider seriously. His lyrical and incisive deep dive into the visual aspects and social contexts of a broad range of case histories, including religious Americana, opens up the “field” of visuality beyond the object itself and to the phenomenology of seeing.

By David Morgan,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Sacred Gaze as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Sacred gaze' denotes any way of seeing that invests its object - an image, a person, a time, a place - with spiritual significance. Drawing from many different fields, David Morgan investigates key aspects of vision and imagery in a variety of religious traditions. His lively, innovative book explores how viewers absorb and process religious imagery and how their experience contributes to the social, intellectual, and perceptual construction of reality. Ranging widely from thirteenth-century Japan and eighteenth-century Tibet to contemporary America, Thailand, and Africa, "The Sacred Gaze" discusses the religious functions of images and the tools viewers use to interpret…


Book cover of Eyes Open

James Mollison Author Of Where Children Sleep Vol. 2

From my list on get your children thinking about the world.

Why am I passionate about this?

Photography has its own language. It can be used to tell us things about the world in a way that words never can. Through photography I have explored the world and witnessed the huge difference in circumstances that exist. It has made me aware of how we all live in our own little bubbles of family, work, school, and neighborhood. I love books that take us outside those bubbles, and since becoming a Dad, reading and looking at books is a way for me to travel with my children to different places before they go to bed. I hope that these books can open up your and your children’s eyes.

James' book list on get your children thinking about the world

James Mollison Why did James love this book?

This is a fun book of photography projects for children (although they would also be good for any adult aspiring photographer). I like the way it has varied practical projects which get you thinking about the process of making photographs based around a theme or idea.

It poses interesting questions to think about when taking a photograph, and as Susan Meilsellas says “whether or not a photograph can change the world, photography can change you. Just open your eyes!”

By Susan Meiselas,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Eyes Open as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

Compiled by Magnum photojournalist Susan Meiselas, Eyes Open is a sourcebook of photography ideas for kids-to engage with the world through the camera.

Twenty-three enticing projects help inspire a process of discovery and new ways of telling stories and animating ideas. Eyes Open features photographs by young people from around the globe, as well as work by professional artists that demonstrates how a simple idea can be expanded. Playful and meaningful, this book is for young would-be photographers and those interested in expressing themselves creatively.


Book cover of Still Lives

Deborah Dash Moore Author Of Walkers in the City

From my list on Jewish photographers and their pictures.

Why am I passionate about this?

I discovered Jewish photographers a couple of decades ago when I worked on a book, Cityscapes: A History of New York in Images. At the time, I was intrigued with how to tell the city’s history through photographs. Then, when I started to request permission to publish, I discovered that most of the photographers were Jewish New Yorkers. That sent me down a twisting path as I learned about more and more and more Jewish photographers. All types of photographers: professional and lay, photojournalists and street photographers, fashion photographers and family photographers. I fell in love with the multitude of their images. Turns out I was not the only one. 

Deborah's book list on Jewish photographers and their pictures

Deborah Dash Moore Why did Deborah love this book?

What can be better than to have a book completely scuttle your assumptions, starting with the photograph on the cover? Like many people, I thought of Jewish life during the years of Nazi Germany before the war as a period of distress and increasing pressure to leave.

These family photographs present a much more complicated view, inviting me to wrestle with my assumptions.

By Sarah Wobick-Segev, Rebekka Grossmann, Shira Miron , Ofer Ashkenazi

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Still Lives as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

How German Jews used photographs to document their experiences in the face of National Socialism

Still Lives is a systematic study of the ways Jews used photographs to document their experiences in the face of National Socialism. In a time of intensifying anti-Jewish rhetoric and policies, German Jews documented their lives and their environment in tens of thousands of photographs. German Jews of considerably diverse backgrounds took and preserved these photographs: professional and amateurs, of different ages, gender, and classes. The book argues that their previously overlooked photographs convey otherwise unuttered views, emotions, and self-perceptions. Based on a database of…


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Book cover of Traumatization and Its Aftermath: A Systemic Approach to Understanding and Treating Trauma Disorders

Traumatization and Its Aftermath by Antonieta Contreras,

A fresh take on the difference between trauma and hardship in order to help accurately spot the difference and avoid over-generalizations.

The book integrates the latest findings in brain science, child development, psycho-social context, theory, and clinical experiences to make the case that trauma is much more than a cluster…

Book cover of Photography Changes Everything

Peter Buse Author Of The Camera Does the Rest: How Polaroid Changed Photography

From my list on the history of popular photography.

Why am I passionate about this?

Growing up in the 1970s, I loved my family’s cheap plastic Polaroid OneStep camera and the magic pictures that developed right before my eyes. Thirty years later, I was incredibly lucky to be the first researcher to get access to the Polaroid archive just as the company was going bust.  For me, the key to Polaroid photography is that it is fun, and all the books on my list are, in one way or another, about the lighter, playful side of photography.  I hope that they take you off the beaten track of the history of popular photography and into some quirky and interesting corners.

Peter's book list on the history of popular photography

Peter Buse Why did Peter love this book?

When I was writing my book on Polaroid photography, people often asked me about Polaroid as an art form. I gave some examples but said there’s so much more to it than that. I’m interested in the ways that photography isn’t just something we look at but something that makes things happen, changing who we are, what we do, and where we go. 

This book shows us how much more there is to photography than art. I especially like how the book does this in short, stylish essays, introducing lots of different voices and perspectives, including photographers, curators, scientists, publishers, writers, and anthropologists.

By Marvin Heiferman (editor),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Photography Changes Everything as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Photography Changes Everything-drawn from the online Smithsonian Photography Initiative-offers a provocative rethinking of photography's impact on our culture and our lives. It is a reader-friendly exploration of the many ways photographs package information and values, demand and hold attention, and shape our knowledge of and experience in the world. At this transitional moment in visual culture, Photography Changes Everything provides a unique opportunity to better understand the history, practice, and power of photography. The publication harnesses the extraordinary visual assets of the Smithsonian Institution's museums, science centers, and archives to trigger an unprecedented and interdisciplinary dialogue about how photography does…


Book cover of Proust in the Power of Photography

Eric Karpeles Author Of Paintings in Proust: A Visual Companion to in Search of Lost Time

From my list on Marcel Proust and expanding your grasp of him.

Why am I passionate about this?

I first read Swann’s Way when I was seventeen. Throughout the following five decades, In Search of Lost Time has always remained within reach, a parallel universe more enriching than words can express. As a painter, I’m drawn to Proust’s subtle use of paintings to reveal and mystify the relationship between what we see and what we know. I’ve spoken on Proust at Berkeley, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and Houston, and was invited to give the annual Proust lecture at the Center for Fiction in New York as well as the Amon Carter Lecture on the Arts at the Harry Ransom Center in Austin.

Eric's book list on Marcel Proust and expanding your grasp of him

Eric Karpeles Why did Eric love this book?

When the Hungarian-French photographer Brassai arrived in Paris in 1924, he taught himself French by reading Proust. As a photographer, he was fascinated by a similarity between his own impulse to make pictures and how the novelist used the photographic process as a metaphor for establishing or obscuring his character’s inner and outer worlds, as if both he and Proust were developing images in their respective darkrooms. Proust, Brassai saw, “used his own body as an ultra-sensitive plate, managing to capture and register thousands of impressions.” He was like a reporter with a camera—sometimes a portraitist, a landscapist, and, “sometimes Proust rivals the paparazzi.”

By Brassaï, Richard Howard (translator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Proust in the Power of Photography as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

One of the most original and memorable photographers of the 20th century, Brassai was also a journalist, sculptor and writer. He took great pride in his writing, and he loved literature and language - French most of all. When he arrived in Paris in 1924, Brassai began teaching himself French by reading Proust. Captured by the sensuality and visual strategies of Proust's writing, Brassai soon became convinced that he had discovered a kindred spirit. Brassai wrote: "In his battle against Time, that enemy of our precarious existence, ever on the offensive though never openly so, it was in photography, also…


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Book cover of The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever

The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier,

The coaching book that's for all of us, not just coaches.

It's the best-selling book on coaching this century, with 15k+ online reviews. Brené Brown calls it "a classic". Dan Pink said it was "essential".

It is practical, funny, and short, and "unweirds" coaching. Whether you're a parent, a teacher,…

Book cover of Mathew Brady: Portraits of a Nation

Tim Wendel Author Of Rebel Falls

From my list on Civil War that goes beyond battles and generals.

Why am I passionate about this?

Growing up, I enjoyed reading about history, especially the Civil War. So, when I stumbled upon the exploits of John Yates Beall and Bennet Burley (the rebel spies are mentioned in Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Team of Rivals), I didn’t believe it at first. After all, my hometown is near Niagara Falls, N.Y., and I’d never heard of this plan to seize the U.S.S. Michigan warship on Lake Erie. As I learned more about the extensive spy network that once existed along our northern border with Canada, I discovered how this audacious plan connected with Abraham Lincoln, Harriet Tubman, John Wilkes Booth, William Seward, and other luminaries from the time.  

Tim's book list on Civil War that goes beyond battles and generals

Tim Wendel Why did Tim love this book?

The Civil War was the first conflict in history to leave a detailed photographic record, and no one did it better than Mathew Brady. More than ten thousand war images are attributed to his studio and he did iconic portraits of Abraham Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth, Walt Whitman, Horace Greeley, and other celebrities.

Today, artificial intelligence, iPhones, and streaming video are remaking our world. But back in the 1850s, photography was the latest technology. It soon became so affordable that soldiers on both sides of the struggle sent a visually accurate memento to loved ones back home before they marched into battle. 

By Robert Wilson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Mathew Brady as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In the 1840s and 1850s, "Brady of Broadway" was one of the most successful and acclaimed Manhattan portrait galleries. Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, Dolley Madison, Henry James as a boy with his father, Horace Greeley, Edgar Allan Poe, the Prince of Wales, and Jenny Lind were among the dignitaries photographed in Mathew Brady's studio. But it was during the Civil War that he became the founding father of what is now called photojournalism and his photography became an enduring part of American history.

The Civil War was the first war in history to leave a detailed photographic record, and Mathew…


Book cover of I Wonder as I Wander: An Autobiographical Journey
Book cover of Delusion and Dream in Wilhelm Jensen's 'Gradiva'
Book cover of Yuri Norstein and Tale of Tales: An Animator's Journey

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