View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. Where is the prison located?

2. In order to make the deal Critz is supposed to fly from Dulles to which foreign city?

3. Which of the following is the president's home state?

4. Neal Backman is being watched under what level of surveillance?

5. How many children does Backman have?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Duke Mongo? Why is his pardon such a huge controversy?

2. The FBI learns about a bank account in Grand Cayman that is most likely connected to Joel Backman. Discuss the discovery and the FBI's request of Teddy Maynard.

3. What is Pratt's recollection of the Backman case? Who was involved? What was the main subject of the case?

4. Discuss Backman's plan to communicate with Neal. Does the plan work?

5. Why is there tension between Backman and Ermanno? What is Backman's demand?

6. What happens when Backman arrives at the military hospital?

7. Discuss the meeting between Sandberg and Pratt. Who are Sandberg and Pratt?

8. What are the President's immediate plans after leaving office? What are the opinions of his wife and others regarding these plans?

9. Why does Backman go shopping? Why does he have to have permission from Luigi?

10. What does Backman do on his second day in Bologna? Who does he meet?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The government chooses to send Backman to Treviso as part of the deal. Why Treviso? Why Italy? What are Backman's thoughts? What are Backman's preferred locations? What must Backman do to prepare for the trip? Why does Backman have to learn to speak Italian? Wouldn't it be easier to go to an English speaking region or country? Describe in detail Backman's safe houses in Italy and how he is able to adapt to the surroundings. Also discuss Backman's struggles to learn the language and Luigi's efforts to help Backman acclimate to the new environment.

Essay Topic 2

Grisham examines the existence of JAM, a program designed to block transmissions to and from satellites in space. Discuss JAM. Do you think it exists? If so, where and how is it used? Who uses it? If it does not exist, how long do you think it might take to develop such a system? Technologically speaking, who is most likely to create and develop this type of program? Research the internet for information on this type of product. Write about the information found. Also discuss what Grisham's current opinion might be on this topic.

Essay Topic 3

Write a final report on the Backman case. The report should be at least 1000 words. You may choose one of the following as a source for the report: Luigi, CIA, NSA, or the FBI. Include the existence and importance of Neptune and JAM, predictions about the usage of the products, Backman's involvement, government actions and involvement, plus the presence of other entities such as Mossad.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,055 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample