Chronicles Trivia Quiz

Answer: Isaac Asimov

Russian born Isaac Asimov was a prolific writer of science fiction and is best known for his "Foundation" series. He also indulged in fantasy and mystery stories. A long time member of Mensa International, he endeavoured to make science accessible to everyone by providing manuals that were easy to understand without being patronizing.

His best examples include the reader-friendly three volume set, "Understanding Physics", published in 1966. In addition to physics Asimov also provided works that covered subjects as diverse as astronomy, William Shakespeare, the Bible and mathematics. Over the course of his career he managed to put works in all of the major categories of the Dewey Decimal System.

Answer: Ian Fleming

Fleming is better known as the creator of the super spy James Bond, agent 007. Born in 1908 he was educated at Eton College, but was never drawn to literary pursuits whilst at school. Entering World War II he worked for British Naval Intelligence where his talents saw him become involved in planning operations such "Operation Mincemeat" and "Operation Goldeneye". "The Diamond Smugglers" began as a series of articles for The Sunday Times, a paper that Fleming was working for, after a number of interviews with Sir Percy Sillitoe, who had worked with DeBeers in an effort to bring the operation down.

In addition to his 12 Bond novels, Fleming also wrote a travelogue called "Thrilling Cities", published in 1963.

Answer: William Gibson

"Agrippa" is an unusual work in that it can be viewed as a work of art as well as a piece of writing. Gibson's work in "Agrippa" focuses on the decay of memory. To emphasise the nature of the work, the compilation is stored on a floppy disc that erases itself after it has been played.

This is further supported by having the pages of the book chemically treated so that once exposed to light the words would steadily begin to fade. In an interview Gibson slyly promoted it by saying "OK, sit down and pay attention, we're only going to be saying this once". To enhance it as an art piece it was made to look as if it had emerged from some catastrophic event.

This was achieved by covering it in stains, using burnt linen pages and having it ensconced within a metal case. Gibson, whose writing is categorised as "cyberpunk" and is best known for his "Sprawl" and "Bridge" trilogies, has also put together an essay entitled "Distrust That Particular Favour" (2012).

Answer: Louis L'Amour

"Frontiers" recounts L'Amour's travels through the American frontiers and back country. It is supported by images captured by the acclaimed photographer, David Muench. Born in 1908, L'Amour was a prolific writer of the western genre, so much so that his publisher, Bantam Books, had to bend their rules in the 1950's not to publish more than two books from the same author in the one year. Amongst L'Amour's other non-fiction works are his memoirs published under the title "Education of a Wandering Man" (1990).

Answer: Norman Mailer

Mailer is considered one of the foremost writers in the genre of creative non-fiction, alternatively known as "New Journalism". He received a Pulitzer Prize for his 1968 work "The Armies of the Night", which dealt with the October, 1967 anti-Vietnam War rally in Washington DC.

He has also written a biography on Marilyn Monroe (1973) and published works on subjects such as Muhammad Ali, Lee Harvey Oswald and Pablo Picasso.

Answer: Stephen King

King offers his own insights in breaking down the horror genre to three levels - terror, horror and revulsion - describing terror as "the finest element of the three". Stephen earned accolades for the work, winning both the Locus and the prestigious Hugo Awards in 1982.

Other non-fiction chronicles from King include "On Writing" (2000), which represents a series of essays on the art of creating fiction, and "Faithful" (2004), a diary, co-written with Stewart O'Nan, of two die hard Boston Red Sox fans and their journey through the 2004 baseball season.

Answer: Erle Stanley Gardner

Gardner was a self taught lawyer who became bored with the routine of the job and, as a consequence, turned his hand to writing pulp fiction. An extremely prolific writer, he penned 80 Perry Mason novels as well as creating numerous other series and characters.

He wrote thirteen travel books, the majority of which dealt with his explorations through Baja, California. The first, "Land of Shorter Shadows" was published in 1948. These works were of such high quality they became accepted as authorities of Mexican Peninsula.

Answer: Robert A. Heinlein

Whilst "Tramp Royale" deals with a journey around the world conducted by Robert and his wife during 1953 and '54, it is more of a social documentary than a travel diary, dealing with such matters as the McCarthy hearings and the social welfare system in New Zealand.

Heinlein's writing career spanned 49 years during which he produced 32 novels, 59 short stories and 16 collections. He wrote articles for magazines as well as a handbook on "How to Be a Politician" (1992) and two articles for the "Encyclopaedia Britannica" on Paul Dirac and antimatter and another on blood chemistry.

Answer: Erskine Caldwell

Caldwell's sympathies lay with the working man, which was highlighted in his writings. "Tobacco Road", for example, dealt with sharecroppers and "God's Little Acre", the misuse of the land. Caldwell was married to photographer Margaret Bourke-White and together they published three photo-documentaries, the most notable being "Have You Seen Their Faces" (1937), which captured a range of issues that were experienced in southern rural America.

Answer: John Grisham

Grisham had been a criminal lawyer for ten years but gave up the practice once his second book, "The Firm" (1991), became a best seller. "The Innocent Man" deals with the rape and murder of a 21 year old cocktail waitress in Ada, Oklahoma. Ronald Williamson and Dennis Fritz were originally convicted of the crime and were incarcerated for almost twelve years before they were proved innocent. Grisham's work, for which he was sued for libel, delves into the mistakes made by the police during the course of the investigation and the subsequent trial.