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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What did Isaacson claim to be Kennan's strong areas in his training?
(a) International Law and German.
(b) International Law and economics.
(c) Protocol and foreign cultures.
(d) Language interpretation and religious studies.

2. What event does Isaacson claim caused tension between the U.S., Britain, and their Soviet Allies?
(a) Roosevelt discovered that Stalin had placed spies throughout his administration.
(b) Harriman discovered that Stalin was conducting back channel negotiations with Hitler.
(c) Harriman discovered his private quarters had been bugged by Stalin.
(d) The discovery of a mass grave of 10,000 Polish officers who had been summarily executed by the Red Army after the Nazi-Soviet Non Aggression Pact of 1939.

3. Who wrote the top-secret "recommendations for the use of nuclear weapons"?
(a) J. Robert Oppenheimer.
(b) Douglas MacArthur.
(c) Colonel Paul Tibbets.
(d) Harry Truman.

4. What unusual practice did Soviet pilots take as they flew in approach to Russian cities, according to Isaacson?
(a) They shut off their engines and glided into a landing to avoid detections by subversives.
(b) They approached Russian cities at tree top level so as to be recognized by the Russian military.
(c) They went into a "torpedo dive" to best avoid being hit by enemy fire.
(d) They did barrel rolls to impress Stalin with their skill.

5. Isaacson reports which "Wise Man" worked to implement Franklin Roosevelt's Lend Lease program?
(a) George Kennan.
(b) Dean Acheson.
(c) John McCloy.
(d) Henry Stimson.

6. What was the ratio of students who passed the training for Kennan's chosen field to those who took the course, according to Isaacson?
(a) 16:110.
(b) 110:16.
(c) 1:11.
(d) 110:160.

7. Who encouraged the United States to rearm and come out of what Isaacson claims to be a period of isolationism following WWI?
(a) Averell Harriman.
(b) Henry Stimson.
(c) John McCloy.
(d) Dean Acheson.

8. Who does Isaacson report to have been the vice president the W. A. Harriman investment firm?
(a) Prescott Bush, father of former President George H.W. Bush.
(b) Harry Truman.
(c) Franklin Roosevelt.
(d) Dwight D. Eisenhower.

9. What does Isaacson cite as the difference between Kennan's and Chip Bohlen's approach to preparing for their chosen field?
(a) Bohlen was very social and enjoyed drinking, but Kennan was studied in seclusion and was a tea-totaler.
(b) Kennan approached his preparations with anxiety but Bohlen enjoyed his time studying for the exams.
(c) Kennan had analytic depth, but Bohlen had a more nimble mind.
(d) Kennan was academic, but Bohlen was impulsive.

10. What event does Isaacson suggest brought calls to come out of its isolationism following WWI?
(a) The Stalinist purges in Russia.
(b) The spread of Nazism across Europe.
(c) Japanese Imperialism through the Far East.
(d) The rise of Italian Fascism.

11. How did George Kennan develop his connection to Russia according to Isaacson?
(a) By reading War and Peace.
(b) By studying Russian in Paris.
(c) By working with Russian ambassadors to Germany.
(d) By studying under Russian professors who were experts in the Czarist era.

12. What quality made Lovett and McCloy influential insiders, according to Isaacson?
(a) The informal social networks they had formed.
(b) Their intimate friendships with President Franklin Roosevelt.
(c) Their overseas experiences with world leaders.
(d) Their efficient methods of researching and writing reports.

13. Which of the "Wise Men" does Isaacson report to have served in active service during WWI?
(a) Chip Bohlen.
(b) Robert Lovett.
(c) John McCloy and Robert Lovett.
(d) Averell Harriman, George Kennan, and Dean Acheson.

14. What does Isaacson claim to be Bohlen's view of Bolshevism?
(a) He was nonjudgemental and unreflective about Bolshevism.
(b) He saw Bolshevism to be a threat to liberal progressivism in Western nations.
(c) He was fascinated by the tenants of Soviet Communism.
(d) He reviled in the violent destruction Bolsheviks were willing to employ to hold onto power.

15. What political movement did Bohlen defend to his classmates?
(a) Russia's Bolshevik Revolution.
(b) Cobdenite free traders.
(c) Labor Unionists.
(d) Corporate fascism.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the reason Isaacson suggests that John McCLoy's mother encouraged him to tutor children of her wealthy clients during summers away from school?

2. Who does Isaacson report to be the U.S. ambassador to Russia immediately after WWII?

3. What does Isaacson report to be a weakness Bohlen exhibited in the execution of his profession?

4. With what investment house did Isaacson claim Averell Harriman merged W.A. Harriman & Co.?

5. What does Isaacson report that John McCloy called, "Something that is worse than anything probably that ever happened in the world"?

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