Kaplan, Eugene H. 1932–

(Eugene Herbert Kaplan)

PERSONAL:

Born June 26, 1932, in Brooklyn, NY; son of Jacob (in sales) and Lea (an office manager) Kaplan; married Breena, Lubow, August 25, 1957; children: Juliee, Susan. Education: Brooklyn College (now of the City University of New York), B.S., 1954; Hofstra University M.A., 1957; New York University, Ph.D., 1963.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Northport, NY. Office—Department of Biology, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY 11550.

CAREER:

Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY, lecturer, 1957-59, instructor, 1959-63, assistant professor, 1963-69, associate professor, 1969-74, professor of biology, 1974—, founder and director of Hofstra University Marine Laboratory (Jamaica), 1980-2000. Expert for United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Associate director of Tel Aviv Elementary School science program.

MEMBER:

National Association for Research in Science Teaching, American Society of Parasitologists.

AWARDS, HONORS:

National Science Foundation fellow, 1963-64; Wright fellowship from Bermuda Biological Laboratory, 1976; Herman Melville award for writing on marine subjects.

WRITINGS:

Problem Solving in Biology, with teacher's edition, Macmillan, 1968, 2nd edition, 1976.

Experiences in Life Science, with teacher's edition, Macmillan, 1969, 2nd edition, 1976.

Teaching Children Science, Israel Ministry of Education, 1972.

A Field Guide to Coral Reefs of the Caribbean and Florida: A Guide to the Common Invertebrates and Fishes of Bermuda, the Bahamas, Southern Florida, the West Indies, and the Caribbean Coast of Central and South America, Houghton (Boston, MA), 1982.

A Field Guide to Southeastern and Caribbean Seashores: Cape Hatteras to the Gulf Coast, Florida, and the Caribbean, Houghton (Boston, MA), 1988.

Sensuous Seas: Tales of a Marine Biologist, Princeton University Press (Princeton, NJ), 2006.

Contributor to biology, parasitology, and education journals.

SIDELIGHTS:

Marine biologist Eugene H. Kaplan has earned acclaim for his books on underwater and shore ecosystems. In addition to the textbook Problem Solving in Biology, Kaplan has also written field guides to the coral reefs of the Caribbean and to the seashores of the American southeast. His book for nonspecialists, Sensuous Seas: Tales of a Marine Biologist, earned favorable reviews for its wealth of information and accessible style. As reviewers noted, Kaplan employs an effective method of capturing his students' attention, which he reveals in his prologue: "Infuse into each lecture a generous helping of sex." Accordingly, the book provides ample details about sea creatures' mating behavior—to a degree that Library Journal reviewer Judith B. Barnett—citing such chapter titles as "Size Does Count" and "Sea Pussy"—considered "slightly sophomoric." A writer for Publishers Weekly, on the other hand, observed that though such dramatization is intriguing "the biology is fascinating in its own right." Richard Shelton, reviewing the book for Times Literary Supplement, praised Sensuous Seas as a "poetic celebration of the extraordinary range" of marine life and a book filled with the joy of discovery.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

American Biology Teacher, March 1, 2007, Jerry Hinkley, review of Sensuous Seas: Tales of a Marine Biologist, p. 179.

Americas, November 1, 1982, Ricardo M. Mondajana, review of A Field Guide to Coral Reefs of the Caribbean and Florida: A Guide to the Common Invertebrates and Fishes of Bermuda, the Bahamas, Southern Florida, the West Indies, and the Caribbean Coast of Central and South America, p. 60.

Audubon, January 1, 2007, Bob Grant, review of Sensuous Seas, p. 80.

Ecologist, December 1, 2006, review of Sensuous Seas, p. 58.

Library Journal, March 1, 1983, review of A Field Guide to Coral Reefs of the Caribbean and Florida, p. 448; August 1, 2006, Judith B. Barnett, review of Sensuous Seas, p. 117.

Publishers Weekly, May 29, 2006, review of Sensuous Seas, p. 48.

Reference & Research Book News, October 1, 1988, review of A Field Guide to Southeastern and Caribbean Seashores: Cape Hatteras to the Gulf Coast, Florida, and the Caribbean, p. 28.

SciTech Book News, May 1, 1988, review of A Field Guide to Southeastern and Caribbean Seashores, p. 14.

Science Books & Films, November 1, 2006, Erik P. Scully, review of Sensuous Seas, p. 254.

Sea Frontiers, July 1, 1982, review of A Field Guide to Coral Reefs of the Caribbean and Florida, p. 247.

Times Literary Supplement, October 27, 2006, Richard Shelton, "Consider the Stingray," p. 31.