With Broadax and Firebrand: The Destruction of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest [Hardcover]

Warren Dean (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1995

This text chronicles the chaotic path to what could be one of the greatest natural disasters of modern times: the disappearance of the Atlantic Forest. A quarter of the size of the Amazon Forest, and the most densely populated region in Brazil, the Atlantic Forest is now the most endangered in the world. It contains a great diversity of life-forms, some of them found nowhere else, as well as the country's largest cities, plantations, mines and industries. Continual clearing is ravaging most of the forested remnants. The story opens with the hunter-gatherers of 12,000 years ago and takes it up to the 1990s - through the invasion of Europeans in the 16th century; the ensuing devastation wrought by such developments as gold and diamond mining, slash-and-burn farming, coffee planting and industrialization; and the desperate battles between conservationists and developers in the late-20th century. Based on a great range of documentary and scientific resources, this book is enormously ambitious. More than a history of a tropical forest, or of the relationship between forest and humans, it is also a history of Brazil told from an environmental perspective.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

"An unprecedented historical account of the destruction of Brazil's Atlantic Forest, a required reading for those committed to its preservation, written with genuine love and knowledge."--José Roberto Borges, Brazil Program Director, Rainforest Action Network

"After reading this volume, no one could fail to realize the uniqueness and importance of these coastal forests, which have played such a fascinating role in the history of Brazil."--Ghillean T. Prance, Director, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From the Back Cover

"An unprecedented historical account of the destruction of Brazil's Atlantic Forest, a required reading for those committed to its preservation, written with genuine love and knowledge." (Jos Roberto Borges, Brazil Program Director, Rainforest Action Network) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 477 pages
• Publisher: Univ of California Pr (April 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520087755
• ISBN-13: 978-0520087750
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #511,504 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #43 in Books > Science & Math > Nature & Ecology > Rain Forests

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Book!, September 7, 2004

By 

Marcia S. Carvalho "[e-mail]" (Londrina, Paraná Brazil) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: With Broadax and Firebrand: The Destruction of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (Centennial Book) (Paperback)

To read this book is to learn how a colonization exterminated the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Laws, economics process, natives agriculture, how the urbanization burned the forest and fens. Except the first chaptre, about the evolution of the forest by geologic times, all is perfect.
I use this book in my class - Geography of Brazil and the students love it. (...)

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What can I say? It's great!, February 7, 2000

By 

Randy Holman (U.S.A.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: With Broadax and Firebrand: The Destruction of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (Centennial Book) (Paperback)

Having actually lived in the country and visited the Amazon rain forest, this depiction of the destruction of the Atlantic rainforest and the effects there is highly factual and rather interesting. It is one of the only successful ecological histories about a forest! If you want a good read about the disappearance of one of Brazil's most historical aspects, then this book is for you.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Impressive environmental history of Brazil, November 3, 1999

By 

Felipe M Pait ([e-mail]) (Sao Paulo, Brazil) - See all my reviews

This review is from: With Broadax and Firebrand: The Destruction of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (Centennial Book) (Paperback)

This book is bound to change your view of Brazilian history, and of environmental history. A must read for anyone interested in either. A good Portuguese language translation is available.