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Title: Better as a compliment
Review: "The Nothing that is: A Natural History of Zero" is a wonderfully written book, if read with an already basic understanding of the history of zero or even general mathematics, but taken by itself Kaplan's book can seem confusing and, at times, incoherent. Unfortunately when I first read this book, I had absolutely no historical foundation regarding the development of zero. If you wish to read this book, I suggest reading a basic history of zero before, be it Charles Seife's "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" or an article in an encyclopedia. That said, the book is a treasure worth delving into, for the simple reason that it is rare to see mathematics written about so poetically. How often do you hear a mathematician quote Homer's "The Illiad" or even Shelly?"
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