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Robert M. Levine

The History of Brazil (Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations (Paperback)) Paperback – October 15, 2003

by Prof. Robert M. Levine (Author)

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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.

"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." - Publishers Weekly

Print length

256 pages
Language

English
Publication date

October 15, 2003
Dimensions

5.5 x 0.51 x 8.5 inches
ISBN-10

1403962553
ISBN-13

978-1403962553
Lexile measure

1410L
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5 star		66%
4 star		11%
3 star		12%
2 star		11%
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Nicholas K. Chalko

Lots of information, bad editing, bad story telling.

Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2010

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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.

5 people found this helpful

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j.k. ellis

Timeline detailing

Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2013

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A general history of \Brazil for those who wish to understand this complex and important South American country. . Worth reading for those who know little of the larger context and timeline. The historical struggle between the rich and the poor, the many diverse cultures that have contributed to the rich history of the Brazilian people are clarified and the potential world-power building there are revealed.

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Ross

The Hstory of Brazil

Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2012

Verified Purchase

The History of Brazil (Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations) is an excellent read. Was purchased so could become familiar with the history of Brazil before the upcoming World Cup soccer and the Olympics. Has definitely fulfilled that request.

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Kelly Leite

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2018

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Great quality and it arrived at the estimated time!

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Amazon Customer

Great read

Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2015

Verified Purchase

Highly informative and superbly written (for an academic).

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John Fitzpatrick

Trying to Explain the Enigma of Brazil

Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2012

Foreigners have been writing about Brazil since it was "discovered" in 1500, with varying degrees of success and, in many cases, have tarred it with clichéd images that do not reflect reality.

Of the modern works, I would highly recommend Joseph Page's "The Brazilians" and advise readers to steer clear of Peter Robb's "Death in Brazil" which is one of the worst books I have ever read.*

Levine's attempt is a short academic history rather than a travel book or personal account of living in Brazil and gives a good introduction and incisive view of how Brazil is so different from the other countries in Latin America. Unfortunately, it ends in 1999 just before Lula became president and Brazil assumed a more prominent role on the world stage. Time for an update, Mr. Publisher if you read this!

Trying to encapsulate this story into a short volume is a hard task especially when you consider that Brazil is the size of a continent and one of the most racially-mixed, regionally-divided and socially-unequal countries in the world.

Brazil has always been different from other Latin American countries. While Spain's Latin American colonies broke into a number of separate states after bloody conflicts with Spain and each other, Brazil remained united and its independence from Portugal was relatively peaceful.

Brazil was also officially an empire for over 60 years and expanded its territory by force, coercion and diplomacy although modern Brazilians who complain about American and European imperialism do not like to be reminded of this.

It was dominated for 30 years in the mid-20th century by dictator Getulio Vargas who managed to bring opposing sides together in a way that marks Brazilian political life and baffles foreigners.

For example, although Vargas had fascist tendencies, he had no qualms about joining the Allies against Hitler, sending troops to Italy and cracking down on Brazil's large German, Italian and Japanese communities. Although he was anticommunist and deprived workers of their democratic rights, he set the foundations for a welfare state and millions of ordinary people turned out for his funeral after he committed suicide.

This is not a riveting book by any means and I feel the author could have written more about the cultural aspects that make this unique society work. However, I would recommend it to people coming to visit or work in Brazil and students. I found it more interesting than E. Bradford Burns' much longer History of Brazil which is a very dull read indeed.

Despite this, I spotted a couple of basic errors, e.g. a map shows Fonte Boa and Porto Nacional as the state capitals of Amazonas and Tocantins instead of Manaus and Palmas, a statement that there were 2,000 Japanese-Brazilians in Japan in 1989 when this figure should be 200,000, and the definition of "pardo" as a "person of African descent" when in fact this terms means someone of mixed race.

I also wonder whether the author is right to claim that there are still many small towns in the south where people speak the languages of their immigrant forefathers. I think Vargas' law banning education in languages other than Portuguese and the closure of many immigrant community clubs and associations put that practice to an end.

6 people found this helpful

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Victor A. Vyssotsky

Excellent, but with a specific outlook

Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2001

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.

22 people found this helpful

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Ricardo Camargo

Very comprehensive history of Brazil

Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 1999

This new book is great because it is lively, emphasizes the most important issues, and shows a great deal of compassion for Brazil's people. The section on the recent past is extraordinary. It clarifies things that I, a Brazlian, did not know.

5 people found this helpful

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