Whatcha Reading, Mad Men?

April 16, 2012 by inReads

In this Hollywood Reporter clip from 2010, creator Matt Weiner shares the reading that inspires him for new episodes of Mad Men. On the non-fiction side, Weiner explains how helpful encyclopedias and magazines from the period can be, and also cites The Glory and the Dream by William Manchester as his go-to source for social history. On the fiction side, Weiner visits and revisits Cheever, Salinger, and Mailer.

Applying a different literary lens to the popular series, the New York Public Library tracks the books mentioned in every episode. List producer Billy Parrott explains that some of the “books on the list are featured more prominently in the series than others, but all are a great way to gain insight into the episodes and the social and cultural times in which the series is set.”