When I was a junior in high school, I read this New Yorker article by George Steiner — a commentary on Hermann Broch's study of Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It changed my life: I began obsessively studying the art, literature, and music of fin-de-siècle Vienna. (Carl Schorske's book was, of course, my next stop.) I could never rival Steiner's erudition, but I always hope that my writing will have a comparable effect on some young reader — set a little fire in the brain.