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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 was the name of O'Rourke's friend who learned to fly a stunt plane and decided to raise cattle?

2. O'Rourke says it is best to simply stay away from what Afghani tribesman?

3. What drug does O'Rourke says makes a person think they can fly?

4. What Washington Square Press series does "The Negro in the City" belong to?

5. O'Rourke believed his town spent too little on what?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does O'Rourke feels that Blatherboro is out of its depth when it comes to city planning?

2. How does O'Rourke suggest solving the problem of students dropping out of school?

3. How does O'Rourke feel about Panama when he goes there in the wake of Operation Just Cause?

4. How does O'Rourke describe environmentalists?

5. Describe O'Rourke's experience when he joined the Guardian Angels on a drug den raid.

6. Why does O'Rourke believe that a lot of money should be spent on the American military?

7. What does the author mean when he says that Americans live a "whiffle life"?

8. Why does O'Rourke say Americans will not find a solution to the problem of drugs in the country?

9. How does O'Rourke feel about his town government blocking the building of a golf course?

10. Why does O'Rourke fault environmentalists for making "big business" out to be the enemy?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explore the perspective used in this nonfiction work. How would O'Rourke's lessons about the government be different if they were written from a third-person perspective, like they would be in a text book? What could the reader gain from a less personal perspective? What is gained from the first-person perspective and the first-hand examples that he uses instead?

Essay Topic 2

Explore O'Rourke's view of special interest groups. What does the author dislike about special interest groups? How does he characterize them? How does he characterize the people who are involved in them? What specific groups does he talk about? What problems does he see with them? What role does he believe special interest groups play in the politics?

Essay Topic 3

Why does O'Rourke say that the 1991 budget caused Bush to become less popular? What were the American people hoping for with Bush? What platform did he run on? How did increased taxes tie into into his decreased popularity?

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