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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is Cook promised in exchange for his cooperation?

2. What are "zaibatsu"?

3. What does Yamata want to know about the U.S. and Russian disarmament?

4. What does Ryan think is the cause for the problems in the U.S. military?

5. Why is the FBI trying to locate Kimberly Norton?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Ryan considered for the position of National Security Advisor?

2. What goes wrong in an industrial process in Japan?

3. Why is the Trade Reform Act passed? What does it do?

4. What information does Yamata want Seiji Nagumo to acquire from Chris Cook?

5. What unusual rumor about Japan does FBI Director Bill Murray confirm?

6. What is the state of Yamata's nuclear preparations when Ryan and the U.S. President go to Moscow?

7. What is Jack Ryan's background, and what is his life like when the novel begins?

8. Describe the first Japanese occupations and landings in the Pacific.

9. How does Yamata's financial tracking program affect the U.S. economic collapse?

10. How does Yamata act on the information he gains about the Durling administration?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Just before the Japanese strike on the U.S. fleet and Pacific islands, the U.S. and Russia jointly celebrate the destruction of their last nuclear weapons. Nuclear disarmament is complete between these two superpowers who vied for decades and came close to initiating suicidal nuclear war. This is a goal that many politicians, statesmen, and diplomats dreamed of throughout the cold war. In the novel, it's implications are crucial.

Part 1) Explain how the joint disarmament occurs and why the U.S. and Russia agree to work together on this issue.

Part 2) Describe the reaction in these two countries and throughout the world when the last missiles are destroyed. Is this reaction reasonable and believable?

Part 3) Explain the strategic consequences of the disarmament.

Part 4) Speculate whether the disarmament seen in the novel could really occur between the U.S. and Russia. Explain how these events, or events nearly like them, could occur.

Essay Topic 2

At least once in the course of the novel, each side in the U.S. - Japanese conflict attempts to use blackmail to its advantage. These efforts have interesting and varied effects, and it is clear that some people and groups are better at manipulating others in this way.

Part 1) Describe the major cases in the novel when blackmail is used, or its use is planned. What information is used, and how is the target assessed and informed of the situation?

Part 2) Summarize the effectiveness of these blackmail attempts. Speculate about why are some attempts more successful than others.

Part 3) Make and support and assessment whether or not the use of blackmail is acceptable as a part of warfare. Discuss specific uses of blackmail from the book.

Use examples and quotes from the book to support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

A major part of Yamata's plan to bring down the U.S. is to launch a devastating attack against the U.S. economy. This attack proves every bit as effective as Yamata had hoped, crippling the nation before a solution can be found to counter it.

Part 1) Explain how Yamata orchestrates the attack against the U.S. economy.

Part 2) Describe what Yamata hopes to gain through this attack. Is it conducted solely for the impact it will have on the American people, or are there other important benefits from Yamata's perspective?

Part 3) Given the effectiveness of the attack, assess whether this mode of warfare is valid as a means of attacking another nation. Is such an act essentially an act of war? Use evidence from the book to support your claim.

Part 4) Explain the response by Ryan and others to this attack. How does the organized response to this attack parallel the organized military effort seen later in the novel?

Provide support for your conclusions with quotes from the novel.

(see the answer keys)

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