Customer Reviews

The Brazil Reader: History, Culture, Politics (The Latin America Readers)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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This book is a collection of short essays on Brazil. I found at least half to be quite interesting, though I probably skimmed about a quarter of them. Many of the essays frequently give a first hand account of life as a small farmer, favela resident or fisherman in Brazil. These essays capture and explain to the English reader the hopes, values and experiences of actual Brazilians. Most English readers gain their understanding of Brazil only second hand through academics or journalists. This book offers a fresh, reality based perspective on Brazil for English readers who haven't learned about Brazil outside of academia, the New York Times, or the beaches of Rio.

This is a great book for learning about Brazil from the earliest days to today. The selections are unusually interesting and varied. As a Brazilian, this book brings me "saudades."

I brought this book in Los Angeles on the way back from a trip to Disney with my children. I finished it almost when I arrived home. The book has great insight and should be read by Brazilians, because it presents things as they are, not as they are supposed to be. Maybe the book will be públished in Brazil some day. I hope so.

From exerpts of historical claims to letters from diplomats, from essays on slavery to descriptions of food, this book gives insights on the spirit and history of Brazil in easy to read snippets. A picture of a people emerges from original sources and non-academic evaluations that adds debth to what you will see when you go there.

This book is a page-turner. As a Brazilian living in the States, it brings back strong memories. A very nice gift.

So often, anthologies collect obvious articles and essays about their subject. This reader goes far beyond, covering subjects ranging from music to history to secuality to corruption. This is a terrific book!

I'm a capoeira instructor living in the United States. I wish all of my students would read this collection. It's a great introduction to the history, culture, and politics of Brazil. So much of life in Brazil is so different from life in the United States. So much of that difference is because of the history of each country.

This book starts at the beginning with discovery and the start of the slave trade. It continues through to modern history and politics of the country.

This book is money and time well spent.

Learn more at http://www.capsprings.com.

I'm interested in all things Brasilian and have been ever since I first set foot on its shores many years ago. The place really casts a spell.

This is a great anthropological look at Brasil far from the easy images of World Cup glory, Carnaval and the 'body beautiful.'

The Brazil Reader is a serious look at a country which never takes itself too seriously.

Though it dominates South America both commercially and geographically, Brasil has often been dismissed as "the country of the future. And it always will be."

But now as one of the BRIC nations (Brasil, Russia, India and China) which have an abundance of talented people and natural resources, it is poised to finally shed its "emerging" nation status.

This book shows us how this emergent giant was formed and developed.

It provides a window into the nation's diversity with stories about its unique ancestral roots. It ranges geographically to include regions outside the familiar Sao Paulo-Rio axis. And it explores the sexuality, behavior and cultural norms of a complex, disparate nation. It's all here, the music, the politics, even the corruption. Especially the corruption.

All in, The Brazil Reader is fascinating glimpse of a fascinating country.

An excellent collection of primary sources from Brazilian history. It strangely skips entire decades and periods which is its only shortcoming.

The book is great thus far, interesting stories about Brazil's history. Can't wait to read the rest as soon as i get some freetime.