Assignment #4 Geopolitics & History: Monsoon

Richard Brennan

Themes

The most apparent theme that Kaplan talks about is the Indian Ocean and how it is such a pivotal influence towards the growth and success of other countries. In his book he touches upon how the Indian Ocean and the countries around it can interact with each other and often influence things like economic growth, population, and politics.

EventsOne chapter that I found the most interesting was Chapter Eleven titled, “SRI LANKA.” I never knew much about this place but had heard of it before. In this chapter, Kaplan goes over how China wants to build more ports for themselves in Sri Lanka.

Personalities

• One thing that I really liked about Kaplan’s book and his writing style in general is his ability to make whole countries feel like they are characters in the story. In a way, he personified countries and gave them goals and feelings. This made this book much easier to understand than other educational books.

Robert D. KaplanRobert Kaplan himself seems like he is a very smart guy. He did a great job putting together and organizing Monsoon and definitely seems to know what he is talking about. I enjoyed the way he formed his opinions and argued his points. This book was a terrific book to be required to read.

References

• http://www.google.com/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi• Kaplan, Robert D. Monsoon: the Indian Ocean

and the Future of American Power. Random House Canada, 2010. Print.