Wind! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Gone With the Wind

Margaret Mitchell was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1900. Her life was 48 years short and during her lifetime she saw only one book published. "Gone With the Wind" was a phenomenal success. The story is set in Clayton County Georgia during the American Civil War era and the subsequent reconstruction.

The protagonist is Miss Scarlett O'Hara, a spoiled daughter of a wealthy plantation owner. The book offers a powerful commentary on social topics such as slavery, discrimination, poverty, relationships, and the position of women in society.

Answer: The Wind in the Willows

"The Wind in the Willows" was written by Kenneth Grahame in 1908. Grahame was the Secretary of the Bank of England and had a special love of telling bed-time stories to his son Alistair. These stories evolved into the madcap adventures of Mr. Toad, Mole, Mr. Badger, Ratty, and their friends. Mr. Toad is presented as a pompous, lazy, obsessive type with a penchant for fast cars.

This lifestyle ends up putting him in prison. While he is locked up, weasels take over Toad Hall. After escaping jail, Toad teams up with Badger, Mole, and Ratty to take back his family residence.

Answer: Inherit the Wind

"Inherit the Wind" focuses on the trial of John T. Scopes, who was convicted for teaching Darwin's theory of evolution during science class, which was contrary to Tennessee state law. The historical integrity of the play is not completely accurate, but the lead characters are indeed based upon Clarence Darrow, William Jennings Bryan, H.L. Mencken, and John T. Scopes.

The film that was later based upon the play earned four Academy Award nominations. The title of the play is taken from Proverbs 11:29 which states: "He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind and the fool shall be a servant to the wise of heart".

Answer: The Winds of War

"The Winds of War" is an epic World War II novel that extends to almost 900 pages. It was published November 15th 1971 by Little Brown and Company. The main character of the book is U.S. Navy Commander Victor Pug Henry, who is the appointed US Naval attaché to Berlin in 1939. During the course of the early war years, Pug is introduced to Winston Churchill, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Benito Mussolini. The war is presented through the character he plays and through the perspectives of those he comes into contact with.

Answer: Black Wind

"Black Wind" is a story in the Dirk Pitt series. Clive Cussler authors the story with his son Dirk. Interestingly, Clive Cussler also participates in a daring rescue during the story. Dirk Pitt Junior is an officer on the NUMA (National Underwater Marine Agency) research vessel. NUMA is a fictitious name for a governmental agency in Cussler's writings, but is now a real organization dedicated to undersea exploration.

In "Black Wind", Dirk Pitt and friends foil a North Korean plot to release a biological warfare agent over the city of Los Angeles.

Answer: Fair Blows the Wind

Louis Dearborn LaMoore was born on March 22 1908 the youngest of seven children. He grew up in Jamestown, North Dakota surrounded by wide open spaces and cowboys who worked the land. His grandfather, Abraham Truman Dearborn, came to live with them. He had fought in both the Indian conflict and the Civil War. Louis fell in love with his grandpa's stories and then decided to write his own.

He wrote "Fair Blows the Wind" in 1978. In the story, Tatton Chantry loses all of his companions when his vessel is shipwrecked. Aided by a beautiful Peruvian woman and his faithful silver sword he takes on the New World.

In this new continent he fights against pirates, Spanish treasure seekers, and the resident Indian tribes.

Answer: Ursula K. Le Guin

Ursula K. Le Guin was born in Berkeley California in 1929. She is a prolific writer who specializes in the science fiction genre. My personal love of fantasy novels began with a reading of her "Earthsea Trilogy" when I was just 10 years old. "The Wind's Twelve Quarters" was published in 1975 and takes its title from a line in A.E. Housman's book "A Shropshire Lad." "The Wind's Twelve Quarters" is a collection of 17 stories, many of which contained worlds that would appear later in some of her most successful novels. Le Guin has won countless awards, but perhaps one of her greatest accolades was recognition in April 2000 by the U.S. Library of Congress who declared Le Guin a "Living Legend" in the Writers and Artists category for contributions to America's cultural heritage.

Answer: Diana Gabaldon

Diana Gabaldon was born in 1952 in Arizona, the daughter of Tony Gabaldon, an Arizona State Senator. Interestingly, her professional training is in science, not literature. Gabaldon received a Bachelors degree in Zoology from Northern Arizona University, a Masters degree in Marine Biology from the University of California San Diego, and a doctorate degree in Behavioral Ecology from Northern Arizona University.

Despite this impressive science background she has become a most beloved author in historical fiction.

Her famous "Outlander" series introduces Claire Randall, a nurse from the 20th century who time travels to 18th century Scotland where she becomes embroiled in the adventures of James Fraser. "A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows" is a short story published in 2010.

It is a World War II adventure that tells the story of Jerry and Dolly and the mystery of the standing stones.

Answer: When the Wind Blows

James Patterson is a noted science fiction author from Newburgh, New York. His book sales exceed more than 300 million copies and he holds the Guinness Book of World Records title for being the first author to sell over one million e-books. "When the Wind Blows", published in 1998, was his 16th full-length novel.

In the book, Frannie O'Neill, a veterinarian in Colorado, teams up with an unconventional FBI officer named Kit Harrison to expose a diabolical child abuse experiment.

Answer: The Wind Dancer Trilogy

Iris Johansen was born in St. Louis, Missouri back in 1938. From an early age, she showed an interest in writing, and started publishing romance novels in 1984. In 1991, she began to turn her hand to historical-romance novels, which gave birth to "The Wind Dancer Trilogy".

There are three books in the series, "Wind Dancer", "Storm Wind", and "Reap the Wind". Almost a decade after publishing this series, Johansen changed genres again, and has become a respected author of crime fiction novels, notably the "Eve Duncan" series.