A Means to an End Trivia Quiz

Answer: Virginia Woolf

This work from Woolf is essentially a long essay that flies a banner for feminism. The narration is drawn from lectures that Virginia had delivered at two women's colleges at Cambridge University toward the end of 1928. In the text she bemoans the fact that women are limited in their capacity to write because they do not have the financial freedom to do so, hence the call in the title for "a room of one's own". To illustrate the point she creates a fictional character, a sister to the great bard William Shakespeare, who is equally imaginative, equally adventurous but is trapped at home and the world is poorer for it.

Answer: The history of slavery in the South of USA

In this book Genovese is careful to take away the focus from the degradation of slavery and brings attention to the human spirit. He portrays the resistance of the slaves, their refusal to be passive victims and their efforts in bringing slaveholders to acknowledge their worth, their culture and their religion, and to recognise their humanity.

The full title of the book is "Roll, Jordan, Roll: The World the Slaves Made". It was published in 1974 and won Genovese the Bancroft Prize in History.

Answer: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Despite its title, the book sheds very little light on motorcycle maintenance and Zen Buddhism. It does, however, document a two and a half week motorbike trip from Minnesota to Northern California by the author, his son Chris and, for a part of the journey, two close mates in John and Sylvia Sutherland. Pirsig uses the text to record a series of philosophical discussions between his group on a wide range of subjects, and to introduce his theory of reality that he labels his "Metaphysics of Quality" (MOQ). MOQ is a concept that draws from East Asian and indigenous American philosophies, F.S. Northrop's theory of concepts and a liberal dose of Charles Peirce's pragmatism theory. Published in 1974, after being rejected by 121 publishers, the book would go on to sell in excess of five million copies.

Answer: Mount Everest

In 1996 a rogue storm brought about the death of eight climbers on Mount Everest and placed the lives of a number of others at risk. Jon Krakauer, working as a journalist for the adventure magazine "Outside", was one of the stranded climbers. The magazine article was to be a study on the commercialisation of the mountain and, as if to prove its point, there were two rival teams on the mountain at the time of the disaster racing to reach the summit.

The book begins with Krakauer's reasons for commencing the climb and then examines his own thoughts when he changes his mind from, initially, stopping at the base camp to making a play for the peak. From there it moves forward to detail the disaster and the rescue efforts, and his critical analysis of what went wrong.

Answer: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions

Munroe does have a scientific background and was, for a time, working as a roboticist at NASA before creating his own web comic strip called "xkcd". The comic takes the opportunity to seriously answer questions while poking fun at, primarily, science, technology and mathematics, but it will also take a dig at philosophy and romance while throwing in the occasional pop culture reference.

His "What If?" book deals with a range of questions that the readers of his website had submitted to him. As with the web site, Munroe will make a serious attempt at looking at the questions from as many angles as possible while applying serious science and his own blend of humour.

Answer: Friedrich Engels

"The Communist Manifesto" was published in 1848 as a twenty three page political pamphlet that presented an analytical view of class struggles. The text opens with a preamble that warns of the "spectre of communism" haunting Europe and closes with a short conclusion.

In between are three sections that deal with (a) materialism and how it allows an oppressive minority to rule over the majority; (b) communism's ability to invoke a "general will" that defends the common interests of everybody; and (c) differentiating communism from the various brands of reactive socialism that were prevalent at the time.

This document proved to be an extremely powerful piece of work that rose from its initial obscurity to become the cornerstone on which the first socialist state (Bolshevik Russia) would be designed.

Answer: Globalisation

Essentially Klein takes a swing at multinational corporations such as Nike and McDonald's, tracking their history in the first sector (No Space), their use of their brands to stifle options (No Choice), their shifting of work to offshore, cheaper labour markets (No Jobs) and concludes with a look at various movements campaigning against this (No Logo).

Whilst the book, which was published in 1999, has drawn its share of criticism, it has also garnered praise and has won Naomi the National Business Book Award (2001) and the French Prix Mediations (2001).

It has also been a strong influence in a number of pop culture areas, from Warren Ellis' comic book series "Doktor Sleepless" to Radiohead's albums "Kid A" (2000) and "Amnesiac" (2001).

Answer: Tom Wolfe

Wolfe was working for "Rolling Stone" magazine in 1972 when he was given the assignment to cover the Apollo 17 mission, which would be the final mission to the moon. This triggered both a curiosity and a question within him: "why would astronauts take on all these risks associated with travel into space?" He zeroed in on the men involved in "Project Mercury" and aligned their strengths and characteristics with the test pilots of the 1940s and 1950s, in particular the legendary Chuck Yeagar.

He opined that the risks they took, their mental make ups and physical attributes amounted to the "right stuff", similar to those "single combat warriors" mentioned in the question who would put their lives on the line for the benefit and welfare of others.

Answer: Running

As a child, Louis was heading toward delinquency until his bother Peter drew him into running as a means of channelling his aggression. Selected for the USA in the 5,000 metre event, his fast finish in the last lap saw him placed eighth and drew the attention of Adolf Hitler, who requested a meeting with the young man. In 1943, as a member of the US Air Force, his plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean. He remained adrift and in peril for 47 days on a life raft until he landed on the Japanese occupied Marshall Islands where he was captured and remained a prisoner of war until the end of the conflict. Laura Hillenbrand's "Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption" was published in 2010. It was a number one best seller on the New York Times bestseller list and won Time Magazine's Top Nonfiction Book of the Year in the same year.

(Photograph) Picture shows a head full of spikes. Of the four answer options, the runner is the only one likely to wear them in competition.

Answer: Homage to Catalonia

"Homage to Catalonia" was published in the UK in 1938 but was not released in the US until 1952, two years after the author's death. The book is a recounting of Orwell's experiences during the Spanish Civil War where he served, initially, as a private then a corporal and (provisionally) as a lieutenant. Orwell arrived in Spain in December of 1936 with the goal to "join the militia and fight against Fascism".

He also convinced the leader of the Independent Labour Party, John McNair, that he should write about the experience with the view of rallying the working classes in both Great Britain and France to the cause.

The book received mixed reviews and was largely neglected for many years. It wasn't until Orwell's success with his other novels that the book gained sales momentum and praise.