Rating: 
Summary: The prose overwhelms the mathematics
Review: While the origins of the number zero and several of the different forms that it takes are covered in this book, the manner of the coverage is unlike most other popular mathematics books. Kaplan uses a style of prose that some would call unique, others might consider it overdone, but the consensus would be that it overwhelms the mathematics. For example, on page 177 after an explanation of a theory that the universe is made of extremely tiny particles that damp out light to make the background of the universe black, he writes: "O' Archimedes, this is wondrous strange! Where are your poppy-seeds, and Buddha, your motes that danced in a sunbeam, now? A universe in which the void has disappeared . . ." Kaplan is using this to make the point that zero is another form of nothingness. This quote also gives a bit of the wide range of people and circumstances that Kaplan uses in his coverage of the zero.
I tend to disagree with much of what he says. While it took some time for zero to be accepted as a number, it also took some time for the much more efficient Indian-Arabic numerals to replace Roman numerals. Furthermore, zero, as a number is much easier to understand than negative, irrational and complex numbers. Nearly all people understand zero as a number but a lot of people cannot fathom irrational and complex numbers. Therefore, I consider some of the statements about how difficult it was for zero to be accepted as a number to be overstated.
I also disagree with some of the "equivalence's" that are used for zero. I fail to see the correctness of the analogy between zero as a number and the emptiness of a vacuum. There are statements about the zero points of the Fahrenheit, Celsius and Kelvin temperature scales, which I do not find significant. Using a zero point for any scale of measurement is a relative thing, something we always do when we use an initial point of reference. We are always so many miles from home, so many feet from the goal and so forth. All of these use implicit zero points of reference.
Some of the statements really stretched my credibility quotient, sounding like some of the absurdity that emanates from numerologists. For example, on page 200 we read, "We have gone from valleys and peaks of nothingness, from despair to exhilaration, as zero changed its emotional sign. But could zero ever have been thought of as infinitely valuable, not the nothing out of which God made the world but Godhead itself?" If you understand these two sentences, you are ahead of me. I don't.
As I read this book, I understood the historical references to zero and its' importance in the development of mathematics. However, some of the statements lost me as I was often unsure what message the author was trying to send.
Published in the recreational mathematics e-mail newsletter, reprinted with permission.
Rating: 
Summary: Zero is more than meets the eye
Review: A concise but definitive history of zero through the ages. A concept that to us seems so natural and necessary, has been anything but that in past ages and civilizations. When you think about it, though, a symbol designating nothing is a rather abstract concept. The idea of a "placeholder", of course, needs the concept of "places" and that is even a more advanced concept. I found the book very well written and entertaining.
Rating:
Summary: Zero is more than meets the eye
Review: A concise but definitive history of zero through the ages. A concept that to us seems so natural and necessary, has been anything but that in past ages and civilizations. When you think about it, though, a symbol designating nothing is a rather abstract concept. The idea of a "placeholder", of course, needs the concept of "places" and that is even a more advanced concept. I found the book very well written and entertaining.
Rating:
Summary: Diving into nothing
Review: I write this review not only for its own sake, but to reply to the common complaints about it.To be fair, it is true that this is not an easy read. However, this is less due to the prose of the author than it is to the great seriousness which he devotes to this concept. The further that you read into this book, the more it is clear that the concept of zero is so interwoven into every fabric of what has created our civilization that it is impossible to discuss it without summoning philosophy, religion, language, art... nothing, as this book shows, is truly in everything. It is also true that there is no bibliography, and I too would like to look at some of the sources Kaplan uses. However, to say, as some people claim, that Kaplan had an agenda in re-writing history is not at all reinforced by the evidence. As he wades through the murky origins of this number (and concept), he takes pains to give ample amounts of evidence. His result doesn't dictate, but instead lets the reader decide. Based on the number of 1-star reviews this has gotten, it clearly is not for everyone. However, I worked my way through it, and if I rushed at the end, it was only because I was insistent on finishing it so I could immediately give it to a friend who was interested in this concept as well. This one takes work: but in my opinion, it's a price well paid for a fanastic book on one of the most elusive of concepts.
Rating:
Summary: Well Reasoned - A Great Read
Review: I've recently read both Charles Seife's "Zero:The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" and Robert Kaplan's "The Nothing That Is: A Natural History of Zero." They are at the same time very similar and very different. They each follow an almost identical line, presenting the evolution of zero chronologically, and they each make almost identical stops along the way. The difference is in how they treat the steps in zero's evolution which is conditioned by their differing metaphysical views. An illuminating example is how they each treat Aristotle's role in zero's history. Charles Seife, from the beginning, reifies zero: the author accepts the misconception that zero is some sort of actually existing mystical force resting at the center of black holes. He doesn't step back to take a look at the concept as concept. Nor does he appear to keep in mind that mathematics is the science of measurement, or that time is not a force or dimension, but merely a measurement of motion. This distorts his perspective, from which he attempts to refute Aristotle's refutation of the existence of the void: for Seife, zero exists and is a force in and of itself. In Seife's hands, zero certainly is a dangerous idea! Robert Kaplan, on the other hand, delves deeper. His work is informed by an obvious love for history and classic literature, and while this results in many obscure literary asides, one feels that this book takes part in the Great Conversation. As a result he steps back and takes a critical look at the true meaning and usefulness of the concept as a concept. Is zero a number? Is it noun, adjective, or verb? Does it actually exist outside of conceptual consciousness or is it exclusively a tool of the mind? Both authors follow zero's role in the development of algebra and the calculus. As a math "infant", this reader, having read Seife's book first, found that the explanations of these two developments by Kaplan cleared away the haze, which Seife's book was unable to do. I found both books to be illuminating. Seife's book contains much valuable historical information. He did his homework. If one were to read only this book on the subject, one would have learned a great deal about the history of mathematics. But if I were to have to choose one to recommend, it would be Kaplan's book. It is more informed, more seasoned, more honestly inductive in its approach.
Rating:
Summary: Nothing is brilliant
Review: interesting book.This book traces the history of zero.Zero,Originated in india made its way through the arab civilization, and into the west.
The author has made a sincere effort to compile a travalogue of "Zero".
Its significance in this world is immeasurable. Some pundits believe.. human race would not have evolved (scientifically) had it not been for "
zero". The value of nothing is in not quantifiable. Its a philisopical take of the how different civilizations used and interpreted zero. Its
the history of the oval, which we take for granted. Brilliant.
Rating: 
Summary: What is nothing?
Review: It may be hard see the problem now, but the concept of zero was a tough one for people to accept. How can I do anything with something that is, by definition, not something? This is a history of zero, the mathematical concept. As with most great ideas, it had no real beginning. Instead, Kaplan presents a patchwork where parts of the concept appeared, traveled, vanished, merged, and re-emerged many times. Persia, India, Greece - all have some claim to some part of zero's heritage. Europe was the latecomer, accepting zero only after declaring it the work of the devil or the devil himself! There is no, or almost no math here. That shows remarkable restraint on Kaplan's part, since he clearly knows the mathematical history at least as well as the social history presented here. The low-math style keep the tone light, and makes it easy to appreciate Kaplan's far-ranging and amusing style. In fact, a few of the very last chapters are so far-ranging and draw so many distant analogies that they contain near-zero amounts of zero itself. That isn't a problem, though, since Kaplan's whirlwind tour of history, astronomy, literature, theology, and more is entertaining by itself. It's a fun read and full of amusing facts, but comes across a bit 'lite'. Kaplan is explicit: weaving a whole historical cloth from these many threads would be demanding enough to kill the pleasure of the story. Academic rigor is clearly a choice open to Kaplan, and he declined. This is a good beach book for anyone, but especially if your tan usually comes from the glow of a CRT.
Rating:
Summary: Tour de force
Review: Kaplan's book is a tour de force. Bridging philosophy, history and, oh yes, mathematics, he takes us through a romp of human intellectual history. He makes the argument, that zero, like death, is at the base of a culture's understanding of the world. At the beginning of the book's journey, such a claim would seem outlandish, but by the end, we have returned home throughly convinced and pleased to have made the trip. It is a pleasure to read a creative mind at play.
Rating:
Summary: philosophical
Review: The book goes into deep details about the history of zero but he also adds too much of philosophy behind zero which is not necessary. In fact I think the author writes more about philosophy than the history of zero it self. The book contains terms you won't understand and you really need the dictionary to understand some things.
Rating:
Summary: The story of Zero
Review: This book is a good read for those who like narrative style and are fairly comfortable with the histories of eastern and western civilization. Kaplan gives some possible morphological etymology sources for the modern use of zero; both in place-holding and actual morphology of the character. If you're not interested in these aspects of historical study, then I would not recommend this text. Kaplan has a meandering writing style and expects the reader to hold several balls in the air while he rounds out his points. The text was fairly informative and I would recommend to anyone who is interested in historical study, not mathematical analysis. People seem to have complained because the book is not written in concise bullet points. However, I would suggest that Kaplan accomplishes his goal. Whether or not you're interested in the HISTORY of zero is the real question.
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