"I found this book around 9/11, when the world was divided into people who were trying to understand Islam and those trying not to understand Islam, and my call was that understanding Islam was a matter of survival."

"I love these books," says Steve Earle, who collects foreign editions of the wizard chronicles, including one in ancient Greek.

The English Patient author's first novel "is my favorite book," Steve Earle says. "My novel sort of exists because of it."

"Mind-blowing" is how Steve Earle describes the 1970s classic about the plight of the American Indians in the 19th century, which has become a must-read for anyone interested in U.S. history and human rights.

"One of my main areas of activism is against the death penalty—and that's largely because of this 'nonfiction novel,'" Steve Earle says.