The History of Brazil (Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations) [Paperback]

Prof. Robert M. Levine (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1403962553 | ISBN-13: 978-1403962553 | Publication Date: October 15, 2003 | Edition: 1st

Brazil is a vast, complex country with great potential but an uneven history. This concise one-volume history will introduce readers to the history of Brazil from its origins to today. It emphasizes current affairs, including Brazil's return to democracy after more than two decades of military rule, and the economic consequences of adopting free-market policies as part of the creation of the global marketplace. The history of Brazil unfolds in narrative chronological chapters beginning with the Portuguese conquest and continues up to the present day.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With over 3 million square miles of territory and 4,600 miles of shoreline, Brazil is the fifth largest nation in the world. In this impressively concise history, Levine, the director for the Center for Latin American Studies at the University of Miami, provides a short, accessible overview of the country's complicated history and its many social contradictions. Like the other books in the Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations series (The History of Turkey, The History of Germany, etc.), this volume functions as sort of extended encyclopedia entry, which "synthesizes much of the current social literature on Brazil" while it introduces readers to the country's geography, economic and social systems, politics, history, and culture. In Levine's analysis, Brazil emerges as a country riddled with contradictions-a place where law requires all citizens over age 18 to vote, but praxis regularly undermines the country's commitment to democracy. (In the 1998 presidential election, 30% of the ballots were invalidated or reported blank.) And despite efforts by reformists, Brazilian politics continue to be dominated by a wealthy, privileged minority whose decisions maintain Brazil's status as one of the most unequal societies in the world. Even with such weighty problems, Brazil has promise, Levine suggests-it is a major recipient of foreign investment and seeks to wield greater influence internationally. With a timeline of important dates in Brazilian history, a listing of notable Brazilian personalities and an epilogue that provides direction for further reading, Levine's book is a good starting point for anyone interested in moving beyond the popular conception of Brazil as the land of Carnival and samba.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Praise for Levine's Secret Missions to Cuba:
"..a valuable contribution to any understanding of the politics and personalities of the Cuban exile in Miami."--Joan Didion

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan; 1st edition (October 15, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1403962553
• ISBN-13: 978-1403962553
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #380,574 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Informative, but a frustrating read, June 1, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The History of Brazil (Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations) (Paperback)

As an American who recently moved to Brazil, I was glad to read a one-volume history of the country written by someone who clearly has an encyclopedic knowledge. However, although the book has fascinating and useful information, it is marred by amazingly slip-shod editing - or perhaps it would be more accurate to say by apparently no editing whatsoever. The book reads as if the author had synthesized it from his previous works and stitched it together in great haste. Thus we read that the first European colonizers "did not know what to make of the peoples they encountered. They stood in awe of the virgin forests, which seemed to be as old as the world." (p.32 in the Palgrave Macmillan paperback edition) But just two pages later we are told that "the Portuguese did not know what to make of the peoples they encountered there. They stood in awe of virgin forests." Or this: "The causes for the civilian-military coup that now overthrew still another constitutional Brazilian government had many causes." (p.123)

Reading "A History of Brazil" is like watching a good film on a faulty projector: you are glad you sat through it, but you can't forget all the annoying moments when the film skipped or went out of focus.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, but with a specific outlook, April 11, 2001

By 

Victor A. Vyssotsky "mandvav" (Orleans, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The History of Brazil (Hardcover)

This book is far more than a recitation of historical facts; it ties together the evolution of political, economic, cultural and social forces to show how Brazil came to be today. It's well worth reading; by a serious scholar, and with an excellent bibliography.

However, it presents the material from a particular viewpoint that makes its coverage somewhat selective, and possibly misleading on some topics. The underlying assumption of the book is that Brazil up until the 1990's was divided into a well-to-do politically empowered elite and an impoverished and mostly illiterate underclass, with little social mobility and no political influence. This assumption is too simplistic. At least by 1960 there was a large and thriving middle class, ranging from skilled industrial workers to well-educated professionals and a great number of independent small businessmen. Although these people were generally not rich, they could lead reasonably comfortable lives, and their political influence was (and has continued to be) much greater than Levine makes clear. For example, the social unrest that led to the military 1964 coup against President Goulart was most prominent in the middle class; I can testify to that because I was there while the strikes, demonstrations and protests were becoming more and more vigorous during 1961, '62 and '63, and I saw where the impetus was coming from.

A key fact that few Americans know (and even many Brazilians don't know) is that over the last 200+ years, the average rate of growth of GDP in Brazil has been higher than the average rate of growth of GDP in the United States. This is not immediately obvious, because Brazil still lags so far behind the USA in GDP per capita; it's explained by the fact that in the late 18th century the USA was already comparatively prosperous, whereas almost all Brazilians lived in abject poverty. So Brazil has been playing catchup, and has come a long ways, although still with a long way to go. Levine fails to point this out. He also writes as if the economic progress since the 1930s has only benefitted the elite, and this is just not so; much of the economic progress has been a steady enlargement of the middle class.

He also fails to point out the extent to which Brazil is now competitive in the world economy. Brazil has exported hundreds of commercial aircraft to the United States; it supplies a significant fraction of US imports of pharmaceuticals; it exports machine tools to Germany; it exports automobiles to many coutries; it exports military hardware such as armored personnel carriers to a number of countries; and so on. To be sure, it also exports plenty of commodity raw materials, but the recent economic stability in the face of falling commodity prices in the world market is largely due to Brazil's high-tech exports.

So, in short, this is a fine book, and I recommend it wholeheartedly, but read it with the understanding that it only gives part of the story.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Lots of information, bad editing, bad story telling., August 1, 2010

By 

Nicholas K. Chalko - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The History of Brazil (Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations) (Paperback)

This book, has lots of information. It's useful. However, it's a terrible read and by far the worst history book I've ever read. I highly recommend that people interested in the history of brazil choose another book on the subject. The editing is sooo bad that entire paragraphs are hard to make sense of. The book does not flow well at all. It's terribly slow and almost uncomprehensive. I'm about done with the book now.. but I'm reading the damn book at about 10 pages an hour because it's such a bore.

Choose something else.

2 Stars for trying.