View a FREE sample

This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What university did Perkins teach at towards the end of her life?
(a) Cornell.
(b) Ohio State.
(c) Florida State.
(d) Columbia.

2. When did Day die?
(a) April 10, 1970.
(b) November 29, 1980.
(c) February 13, 1965.
(d) March 2, 1985.

3. Where was Ida Eisenhower born?
(a) The Hudson River Valley.
(b) New York City.
(c) Los Angeles.
(d) The Shenandoah Valley in Virginia.

4. How does Brooks describe Dwight Eisenhower's father?
(a) Solitary and difficult.
(b) Gregarious and outspoken.
(c) Gentle and honest.
(d) Flighty and undependable.

5. What cabinet-level position did Perkins hold during the Roosevelt years?
(a) Secretary of Trade.
(b) Secretary of Commerce.
(c) Secretary of Labor.
(d) Secretary of State.

6. Where did Dwight Eisenhower grow up?
(a) Scranton, Pennsylvania.
(b) Abilene, Kansas.
(c) Columbus, Ohio.
(d) Mobile, Alabama.

7. What was one tactic Eisenhower used when he was irritated with someone as a way of controlling his anger?
(a) He talked to his wife about it.
(b) He wrote their name on a piece of paper and threw it in the trash.
(c) He recorded himself giving the person a piece of his mind.
(d) He went on hikes to relax.

8. What well-known war correspondent's work did the radio program Brooks describes in Chapter 1 feature?
(a) David Halberstam.
(b) Ernie Pyle.
(c) Carl Bernstein.
(d) David Mitchell.

9. What terms does Brooks use to describe a life of humility versus a life of egotism in Chapter 1?
(a) Big Lies and Little Lies.
(b) Big river and Little River.
(c) Big Me and Little Me.
(d) Big Life and Little Life.

10. Which well-known WWII general did Dwight Eisenhower serve under and have a low opinion of?
(a) General George Marshall.
(b) General Douglas MacArthur.
(c) General Gerald Ford.
(d) General Michael Smith.

11. What radio program inspired Brooks to write the book?
(a) Command Performance.
(b) All Things Considered.
(c) Fresh Air.
(d) Hot Jazz.

12. Where was Frances Perkins born?
(a) Los Angeles.
(b) Chicago.
(c) New York City.
(d) Boston.

13. Who did Day have a child with?
(a) Forster Batterham.
(b) Daniel Day Smith.
(c) David Farber.
(d) Sinclair Lewis.

14. Which religious figure and writer does Brooks reference in the very beginning of the Introduction?
(a) Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik.
(b) Rabbi Andrew Wyelin.
(c) Pope Pius IV.
(d) Pope John Paul II.

15. What did Perkins' daughter once do as an adult that embarrassed Perkins?
(a) Spent all her money and ended up in jail.
(b) Eloped.
(c) Wore wildly inappropriate attire to a society event.
(d) Appeared drunk at a wedding.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who led a factory strike in 1909 to try to help female industrial workers improve their work conditions?

2. What significant federal program was Perkins an advocate for?

3. Who sent Brooks an email responding to a column he wrote that Brooks says explains the mythology of his book?

4. Brooks quotes writer Alexsandr Solzhenitsyn as saying the line separating good and evil passes through what place?

5. What is the title of William James' treatise that Brooks reference in Chapter 3?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 491 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample