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Brazil On The Rise: The Story Of A Country Transformed (2010)

by Larry Rohter(Favorite Author)

3.7 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0230618871 (ISBN13: 9780230618879)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Palgrave Macmillan

review 1: I have been reading about the BRICs: Brazil, Russia, India and China who Goldman Sachs say will dominate the emerging new world economy. I read this book on Brazil as part of this. It did a reasonable job but didn't give me many deep insights, just covered the ground and left me thinking that Brazil has a long way to go before it is really on track and recent events there have confirmed my concerns. You cannot easily build an advanced industrial economy on such profound inequality as Brazil has. It is too unstable, domestic consumption is too low given how much wealth flows to the rich and middle class people have to spend too much on personal security of their homes to become the dynamic force they could be. Sad really, Brazil's history still holding it back, though it ha... mores made great strides..
review 2: I was really surprised with how much I learned from this book, because I was expecting a more "touching of the surface" treatment. But luckily, the New York Times reporter Larry Rohter has been living in Brazil for decades, and is even married to a Brazilian. This is important, because even though he shouldn't be considered as someone with knowledge as the natives, he is part of a big family and through all the relatives of his wife he becomes intrinsically connected to the true Brazil. 'Brazil on the Rise' is easily separated into 10 linearly progressing chapters, and could be read like an afternoon story, or an extension of the Sunday New York Times magazine. And yet, even if written more leisurely at moments, the topics and ideas it treats are not that simplistic. After the author covers the history of Brazil, which is truly fascinating even for people who are intimately knowledgeable about European history, he goes on a cultural escapade to show us why Brazil is the land of "sin and salvation" and how the corrupt practices are a way of life, and everybody has to "help" everybody in order to function in the society. He also covers Brazil's rich tradition in elevating music as a way of life, in a similar way that the French do. The story of how the bossy nova music movement came to be is my favorite part of the book, and even got me into listening to the catchy rhytms. The second part of the book deals with the important problems that Brazil as a developing superpower needs to deal with: agriculture, energy, the Amazon, and foreign policy. The last one is a 'problem' mainly because Brazil has always had the fame of not being considered "a serious country" according to some, and because of its eternal promise that "the future belongs to Brazil", both of which are very hard on Brazilians' egos and on the politicians. I found the politics of the book to be fair, even if quite neutral, and very deeply documented. He doesn't just talk of the presidents, but also mentions leaders who go against the current, such as Marina Silva, who was Environment Minister, but had to step down due to differences with Lula. For me, this book, while unpretentious, truly captures the spirit of Brazil and its people, through the music, through the corrupt practices, the nature, the uncertainty and, obviously, king football! Truly reccomend! less

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