Groundbreaking Books of the 20th Century Quiz

Answer: meatpacking

"The Jungle" tells the story of a family of Lithuanian immigrants who came to the U.S. seeking a better life for themselves. Settling in the Chicago area, they went to work in the meatpacking industry and endured all sorts of unsafe conditions. While Sinclair's book was meant to be an exposure of these unsafe working conditions, the main result of the book was the establishment of the Food and Drug Administration to regulate the handling of food.

Answer: Sinclair Lewis

The novel is said to be based on Lewis' hometown of Sauk Centre, Minnesota. After the novel came out, Sauk Centre was at first unhappy with how it was depicted. However, the town has since embraced Lewis, and his boyhood home is now open for visitors to tour.

During the 1920s Lewis also published "Babbitt", "Arrowsmith", "Elmer Gantry", and "Dodsworth", resulting in his being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1930, the first American to be so honored.

Answer: John Maynard Keynes

"Keynesian Economics" remained controversial for several decades before becoming generally accepted economic theory. With John F. Kennedy's 1962 tax cut to stimulate the economy, it was apparent Keynes' ideas had attained acceptance.

One who never did accept Keynes' theories was Milton Friedman, who consistently advocated an unfettered free market until his death in 2006 at age 94. Friedrich von Hayek was another famous critic of Keynes, while Galbraith was perhaps Keynes' biggest disciple.

Answer: Okies

Both "The Grapes of Wrath" and Woody Guthrie's 1943 autobiography, "Bound for Glory", depict the plight of the Okies as they migrated to California in search of a better life.

Answer: On the Road

Hunter S. Thompson wrote "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", William Burroughs wrote "Naked Lunch", and "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" was by Tom Wolfe.

Answer: Ugly

Prior to this book it was customary for ambassadors from the U.S. to have no knowledge or appreciation of the culture or history of countries they were sent to, and no ability to speak the language. In fact, ambassadorships were often granted as political favors by newly-elected Presidents to reward their major campaign contributors. Since then, there has been a much greater sensitivity to respecting other cultures, and a greater use of career foreign service workers as ambassadors.

Answer: Michael Harrington

It is hard to overstate the impact of Harrington's work. At a time when the U.S. was basking in the height of its post-WW2 prosperity, Harrington documented that a quarter of the American populace was living in poverty. A major premise of this book was the notion that these poverty-stricken people were living off the beaten path, so we normally didn't see them. Harrington took the trouble to leave the beaten path and find them, and then he wrote about them.

Answer: Spring

Carson was a former marine biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who spent four years meticulously researching the effect of the pesticide DDT on the food chain prior to publishing her book. As a result, her work stood up to scientific analysis, and DDT was eventually banned.

Answer: Chevrolet Corvair

The design problems with the Corvair were corrected for the 1964 models; however, Corvair's reputation was hopelessly damaged and production of the Corvair ended in 1969.

Answer: Germaine Greer

Millett wrote "Sexual Politics" and Jong wrote "Fear of Flying", while Steinem established the highly successful "Ms. Magazine", after she had become famous by going undercover as a Playboy bunny and then writing about the experience.