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For some, it's the children's books that opened a young mind to a new idea; for others, it's the breakthrough book that put an adult life on a different path.

We asked six people who are shaping the Old Pueblo in distinct ways to each name the book that shaped them.

The result is a variety of books and insight into people who have made Tucson what it is today — and are influencing what it will be in the future.

J.A. Jance, best-selling suspense author. Her upcoming book "Damage Control" is due out July 22:

"I was in Mrs. Spangler's second-grade classroom at Bisbee's Greenway (Elementary School) when I read my first 'Wizard of Oz' book by (L.) Frank Baum. Some children read those books and see the wizard hiding behind the curtains. I read them and saw Frank Baum hiding behind the words. I knew from that moment that was what I wanted to do — be a writer. And now I am one."

Bob Elliott, former UA and NBA basketball player, commentator, president and owner of The Elliott Accounting Group:

"The name of the book is 'Quiet Strength,' by and about the life of Tony Dungy, the head football coach of the Indianapolis Colts. The book starts with Tony's childhood and continues to the Colts winning the Super Bowl. It also addresses the death of his son James. His combination of faith, education and upbringing by his parents has helped Tony throughout his life experiences. Tony and I were childhood friends, and it was interesting to see his view on some of the experiences we have shared to date. An excellent book about a very straightforward, sincere man."

Maricela Solis de Kester, president, Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce:

"I would say the book that has most influenced my life is 'The Four Agreements' by Don Miguel Ruiz. I love this book! The Four Agreements:

"1. Be Impeccable With Your Word.

"2. Don't Take Anything Personally.

"3. Don't Make Assumptions.

"4. Always Do Your Best.

"I believe these Four Agreements influence my life because I am able to apply them each and every day. They challenge me to remove my ego from decisions and situations that can become very difficult. They also help in keeping things in perspective and staying grounded in my life."

Roy Flores, chancellor, Pima Community College, an excerpt from his response:

"If I have to select only one book, it would be 'Brave New World' by Aldous Huxley. I read it during my freshman year in college. At that time, I believed that the central government always had the best interest of the public in mind. I took it as an article of faith all government officials protect our individual liberties. I could not imagine it being otherwise until I read 'Brave New World.' It was then that I realized that under certain conditions even our own government was capable of lies and deception. I never viewed our old world in the same way after reading 'Brave New World.'"

Anita Kellman, co-founder, Breast Cancer Boot Camp:

"It is 'The Complete Guide to Navy SEAL Fitness' by Stewart Smith. This book helped me model my Breast Cancer Boot Camp. It gave me inspiration and guidance to pass on to the 'troops.' It taught me how to be 'Sarge' and take that role seriously. It helped me reach out to over 500 women, giving them the strength and courage to fight the battles.

"This book changed my life, so I was able to change others as well."

Tom Philabaum, glass artist, Philabaum Glass Gallery and Studio:

"In college, my book of inspiration was E.E. Cummings' '100 Selected Poems.' It served as a daily devotional to fire up the creative juices. His unusual approach to, and use of, language helped me to think outside the box and consider new options as routine."

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The Pima County Public Library is asking Tucson notables and neighbors to each name the book that changed their lives.

We asked our own workplace neighbors — seven fellow Arizona Daily Star employees — which books changed their lives. Here's what they wrote:

Bonnie Henry, columnist:

"Laments for the Living" by Dorothy Parker

"I would say the book that changed my life — or at least veered me into writing — was a collection of satirist Dorothy Parker's short stories, 'Laments for the Living,' that some relative must have left at my grandmother's house. (I can't imagine my grandmother ever reading this.)

"At any rate, I spent a lot of time at my grandmother's house when I was growing up, and bookworm that I was, I would read anything available. One day, I discovered this collection of short stories in my grandmother's bookcase.

"It was like nothing I had ever read before — sharp, sarcastic, witty — and I was immediately taken with Dorothy Parker's style of writing.

"I would become just one of many writers to admire Dorothy Parker and imitate her style, for better or worse. I hope that I've found my own voice since then, but whenever my writing dips into the ink well of sarcasm, you can thank — or blame — Dorothy Parker."

David Fitzsimmons, editorial cartoonist:

"A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost Story of Christmas" by Charles Dickens

"The book that changed my life isn't really a book. It's a novella. A novella is just the right length for my ferretlike attention span. I love this short book so much that I author an annual parody of the fable that serves as a fundraising vehicle for the local Diaper Bank. It's one of my favorite political tracts: 'A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost Story of Christmas' by Charles Dickens. 'A Christmas Carol' is a tale of transformation and a tale of hope. And I didn't realize until adulthood how it had changed, shaped and molded me. How the little Dickens had slyly indoctrinated me into reformist thinking. Here's my synopsis: A compassionless conservative is visited by three ghosts who remind him that easing the suffering of his fellow men is his moral obligation. He treats his noble worker like a contemptible slave. Redeemed, Ebenezer renounces Ayn Rand, opens the Bob Cratchit Food Bank and sees to it that Tiny Tim receives a break from his HMO. Scrooge tears up his book of debts, and a mortgage credit crunch in London is averted and all ends well. Year after year, the reformer Dickens' liberal views, cloaked in sentiment and good melodramatic theater, shaped my attitudes about workhouses and the poor and the meaning of citizenship and community. Bah, humbug, good book."

Carmen Duarte, reporter:

"Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya

"I read 'Bless Me, Ultima' by Rudolfo Anaya in my "Chicano Literature" class at the University of Arizona in the late 1970s. This book touched my soul because it reflected cultural experiences and stories about curanderismo — the power of herbal remedies and the belief in supernatural powers that can be used for good or evil. The story is set in the open spaces of a rural town in New Mexico and is about a young boy, Antonio Marez, and Ultima, a wise, elderly curandera who teaches him about the supernatural. It is a coming-of-age story about Antonio, who questions spirituality and his Catholic faith.

"This book made an impact on me because of stories my mother shared with me as a young girl growing up and later on in my life. My mother, Leonarda Bejarano Duarte, who died March 5, 2007 at age 90, was born in the rural town of Virden, New Mexico, which borders Duncan, Arizona. She grew up in these towns and heard about stories of holistic healing and witchcraft. She felt safe and grounded in her deep-rooted Catholic faith. 'Bless Me, Ultima' was the first book I read that shared in the literature of magical realism."

Phil Villarreal, film/video game critic:

"Good-bye, Chunky Rice" by Craig Thompson

"It's a smallish, black-and-white graphic novel about the turtle Chunky Rice who leaves his girlfriend, a mouse named Dandel, to make it big in the wide, wondrous world. It sounds like the premise for a children's book, and maybe it is, but it transcends age and just speaks to the succession of crossroads you encounter throughout life, as you make crucial decisions that will affect your destiny.

"The emotion on the page is palpable, from the simplistic illustrations that resemble kids' doodles to the flowery, cursive-style lettering reminiscent of notes passed in junior high. The little book thumps with a pulsing heartbeat, and I connected to it so strongly that I shiver as I type this.

"'You're like a little flower that's outgrown its pot and needs to be transplanted in order to keep growing,' says Dandel, so understanding even as she's crushed. He asks her to run away with him, but Dandel refuses, insisting she knows this is where she belongs and she wants Chunky to find a place that feels the same way.

"I read the book when I was in a situation much like Chunky's. I was graduating from college, was dating a girl who was a year behind me at school and had a post-grad internship at the San Francisco Chronicle beckoning. At the time I was half-convinced I had outgrown my Tucson flowerpot and needed to see new horizons. The book seemed to be a sign from above that I should follow Chunky's example and go off. But I didn't. I couldn't bring myself to leave my girlfriend, who became my wife. Nor could I abandon my hometown, even though I had no job prospects here at the time. Now that I look back I'm not so sure I went against the message of the 'Good-bye Chunky Rice,' which could just as easily be read as a lament against leaving for the sake of leaving by someone who made a choice that still hurt him as he bled his thoughts to pen and paper."

Bobbie Jo Buel, executive editor

"My Ántonia" by Willa Cather

"Even though I grew up there, Nebraska remained partly foreign to me until I started reading the work of Willa Cather when I was in high school. It's a flat ocean of farmland, bleak and gray much of the year and wild and green the rest. The characters in 'My Ántonia' plant themselves there and learn to adapt, or at least they try. In every fictional character Cather created, I saw pieces of people I knew, and she helped me understand them better. I also learned about writing by reading Cather. Her descriptions are spare and precise."

Ernesto Portillo Jr., columnist:

Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya

"I'm not sure the year I first read the book, but it could have been 1974 or later when I turned the first page of 'Bless Me, Ultima' by New Mexico writer Rudolfo Anaya, published in 1972. It is the story of a young boy who discovers the special powers of a curandera, a mystical elder woman with secretive curing powers. It's a coming-of-age story set in the proud Hispanic culture of northern New Mexico. It is a story of magical realism that made me proud of my Latino culture and opened me to search for and read the writings of Chicano authors whose works reflected my reality. I've read the book twice since then, and each time it reveals something new and powerful about culture, people and our beliefs."

Ann Brown, editorial page editor:

The "Little House" series by Laura Ingalls Wilder and "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott

"I was dancing on the tightrope between being a child and being a teen-ager the summer between sixth and seventh grades. My parents and family were in transition, and I found solace with a Brittany Spaniel named Lady, Top-40 radio station KTKT (990-AM), and in the entire Laura Ingalls Wilder's 'Little House' series and Louisa May Alcott's 'Little Women.'

"Reading the 'Little House' books in sequence and 'Little Women,' which I read at least three times during those few weeks, shaped that summer. I was enthralled with the courageous girls and young women who worked so hard and were happy with so little. I envied the remarkable, supportive relationships among the sisters. Doing chores on which the family depended, knitting mittens when too sick to leave a bed, choosing love over money and pursuing your dreams are not the profound, lightning-strike life-changing experiences, but they are simple lessons in selflessness and love that I still try to carry with me today."