Robert and Ellen Kaplan bring a wealth of experience in mathematics education, having taught students from childhood to adulthood at renowned institutions, including Harvard University. Their collaborative work aims to demystify and illuminate complex mathematical ideas for a general audience. Through their writing, they explore profound concepts like infinity and the nature of numbers, making them accessible and engaging. Their approach reveals the inherent beauty and interconnectedness of mathematics within our world.
Set against the backdrop of 1980s New York City, the book intricately weaves narrative and reflection through the lens of the AIDS epidemic, exploring themes of urban life, national politics, and personal loss. The title poem, "Past/Present," delves into time, failed romance, and self-discovery, while the second half crafts a sensory landscape that serves as a meditative space for examining memory, identity, and relationships in a tumultuous world. Detailed imagery enhances the emotional depth and complexity of the experience.
American science produces the best medical treatments in the world. Yet U.S.
citizens lag behind in life expectancy and quality of life. Robert Kaplan
marshals extensive data to make the case that U.S. health care priorities are
sorely misplaced-invested in attacking disease, not in solving social problems
that engender disease in the first place.
"Robert Kaplan first visited Romania in the 1970s, when he was a young journalist and the country was a bleak Communist backwater. It was one of the darkest corners of Europe, but few Westerners were paying attention. What ensued was a lifelong obsession with a critical, often overlooked country--a country that, today, is key to understanding the current threat that Russia poses to Europe. In Europe's Shadow is a vivid blend of memoir, travelogue, journalism, and history, a masterly work thirty years in the making--the story of a journalist coming of age, and a country struggling to do the same. Through the lens of one country, Kaplan examines larger questions of geography, imperialism, the role of fate in international relations, the Cold War, the Holocaust, and more."--publisher
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY FINANCIAL TIMES From Robert D.
Kaplan, named one of the world's Top 100 Global Thinkers by Foreign Policy
magazine, comes a penetrating look at the volatile region that will dominate
the future of geopolitical conflict. Over the last decade, the center of world
power has been quietly shifting from Europe to Asia. With oil reserves of
several billion barrels, an estimated nine hundred trillion cubic feet of
natural gas, and several centuries' worth of competing territorial claims, the
South China Sea in particular is a simmering pot of potential conflict. The
underreported military buildup in the area where the Western Pacific meets the
Indian Ocean means that it will likely be a hinge point for global war and
peace for the foreseeable future. In Asia's Cauldron, Robert D. Kaplan offers
up a vivid snapshot of the nations surrounding the South China Sea, the
conflicts brewing in the region at the dawn of the twenty-first century, and
their implications for global peace and stability. One of the world's most
perceptive foreign policy experts, Kaplan interprets America's interests in
Asia in the context of an increasingly assertive China. He explains how the
region's unique geography fosters the growth of navies but also impedes
aggression. And he draws a striking parallel between China's quest for
hegemony in the South China Sea and the United States' imperial adventure in
the Caribbean more than a century ago. To understand the future of conflict in
East Asia, Kaplan argues, one must understand the goals and motivations of its
leaders and its people. Part travelogue, part geopolitical primer, Asia's
Cauldron takes us on a journey through the region's boom cities and ramshackle
slums: from Vietnam, where the superfueled capitalism of the erstwhile
colonial capital, Saigon, inspires the geostrategic pretensions of the
official seat of government in Hanoi, to Malaysia, where a unique mix of
authoritarian Islam and Western-style consumerism creates quite possibly the
ultimate postmodern society; and from Singapore, whose benevolent autocracy
helped foster an economic miracle, to the Philippines, where a different brand
of authoritarianism under Ferdinand Marcos led not to economic growth but to
decades of corruption and crime. At a time when every day's news seems to
contain some new story--large or small--that directly relates to conflicts
over the South China Sea, Asia's Cauldron is an indispensable guide to a
corner of the globe that will affect all of our lives for years to come.
Praise for Asia's Cauldron Asia's Cauldron is a short book with a powerful
thesis, and it stands out for its clarity and good sense. . . . If you are
doing business in China, traveling in Southeast Asia or just obsessing about
geopolitics, you will want to read it.--The New York Times Book Review Kaplan
has established himself as one of our most consequential geopolitical
thinkers. . . . [Asia's Cauldron] is part treatise on geopolitics, part travel
narrative. Indeed, he writes in the tradition of the great travel writers.--
The Weekly Standard Kaplan's fascinating book is a welcome challenge to the
pessimists who see only trouble in China's rise and the hawks who view it as
malign.--The Economist Muscular, deeply knowledgeable . . . Kaplan is an
ultra-realist [who] takes a non-moralistic stance on questions of power and
diplomacy.--Financial Times From the Hardcover edition.
Traces the development of mathematical thinking and describes the characteristics of the "republic of numbers" in terms of humankind's fascination with, and growing knowledge of, infinity.
Nationally recognized leadership experts Kaplan and Kaiser have conducted thousands of assessments of senior executives designed to determine when their strengths are betraying them. They draw on their data to identify four fundamental leadership qualities.
The insights, discoveries and theories of great geographers and geopolitical thinkers of the past look back at critical pivotal events in history and then look forward at the evolving global scene
Kaplan describes a specific and actionable roadmap for helping readers define
their own success and reach their unique potential. This effort requires
several key steps in an integrated process, as well as a high level of
motivation and hard work.
A squared plus b squared equals c squared. It sounds simple, doesn't it? Yet this familiar expression is a gateway into the riotous garden of mathematics, and sends us on a journey of exploration in the company of two inspired guides, who trace the life of the Pythagorean theorem from ancient Babylon to the present, visiting along the way Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, President James Garfield, and the Freemasons--not to mention the elusive Pythagoras himself. Why does this theorem have more than two hundred proofs--or is it four thousand? And it has even more applications than proofs: Ancient Egyptians used it for surveying, and today astronomers call on it to measure the distance between stars. It works not just in two dimensions, but any number you like, up to infinity. And perhaps most intriguing of all, it opened the door to the world of irrational numbers.--From publisher description
The US spends more per capita on health care than any other country, yet it
ranks last among comparison nations on the major health indicators. Here,
Kaplan analyzes what can be done to turn this situation around and provides
useful advice to policymakers.
