5 comments about Lonely Planet Brazil.

1. Lonely Planet is usually the best travel guide out there. Unfortunately, there Brazilian version is full of errors. A friend of mine purchased LP for our trip to Brazil in May 2005 while I got Let's Go Brazil. Like another review stated, there are several errors in Sao Paolo alone. We were search for a Italian restaurant that is suppose to have the "best pizza in Brazil". When we got to the restaurant, we were told by the owner that the restaurant has never sold pizza. I was told by one travel agent/guide in Sao Paolo that the person that did the section on Sao Paolo was only there for 1-2 days and there was no way he could have accurately gotten all the information that he needed in that short time span. We also had a problem finding out hostel in Rio using the map in LP. For a book that was release in Jan. 2005, it is missing much information. I would purchase Let's Go just to have another reference guide book.



2. Lonely Planet Brazil
   i go in september to brazil but i started reading already in my book from brazil it's filled with good tips for excursions and other things to.



3. We went to Rio using this book and were very disappointed. While the background information in the books is helpful, the book is very out of date, and often inaccurate. In particular:
   
   1) Most of the restaurants recommended that we tried to go to were closed down. Those that we found were not as good as the review suggested.
   
   2) Maps are small, hard to read, and often inaccurate, placing locations on the wrong block, or leaving off crucial information, such as there are buildings blocking routes through neighborhoods. This often caused us to have to backtrack quite a distance to get where we were going.
   
   3) There was not much useful information about Ilhe Grande.



4. I have been doing Brazil vacations for decades (literally) and have seen every guidebook in the English language. For some reason - perhaps because Brazil is such a big country with a limited English-language guidebook market - publishers have never found it worthwhile to invest money and time into producing a truly first rate guidebook. This latest edition of Lonely Planet is no exception. I cannot endorse ANY of the English language guidebooks out there today as a one stop guidebook(although each has a few redeeming qualities).
   
   So what is a would-be Brazil traveller to do? Do what I have been doing for the last ten years: supplement your English language guidebook with a first rate, up-to-date guidebook from the Quatro Rodas series published in Brazil by Abril publishing. In other words, get an English language guidebook for background information (I prefer the footprint book, but LP is adequate for a broad overview of the country). Then, with a limited reading knowledge of portuguese (how much do you really need to know to be able to look up hotel names, street addresses, and phone numbers, right?) your trip will be made a lot simpler if you get the Quatro Rodas guides. The Quatro Rodas series is constantly being updated, and in my experience provides the widest, most complete, accurate, and thorough coverage of hotels, restaurants, tourist sites, directions, and logistics of any guidebook. And best of all, the Quatro Rodas guides are specialized: on a budget, get "Viajar bem e barato" (requires a bit of portuguese reading ability); visiting specific states, get the state guides for your destinations; doing driving, get their road atlas; and best of all, going to the beach, the get the Brazil beachcomber's bible, the "Guia Praias" (truly one of the most amazing guides in the world!).
   
   So where do you get these books? In any airport book store / news stand. Trust me, your life as a Brazil tourist will be made a lot easier if you learn to use the Quatro Rodas books.



5. I took three guides with me on my 5 week journey through Brazil (Sept/Oct 2007): L.P., Footprint, Frommer's. Lonely Planet would have been my first choice, BUT, it's dated. Its publication date of 2005 means that the research was done 2003-2004. Many things have change in four years. The prices in this guide have doubled and some restaurants and hotels that are listed have closed and/or the quality of some has seriously declined. But first, the positive.
   
   No other guide except Footprint (see my review) comes close to the covering all of Brazil. However, LP is the best guide to have if you are backpacking and thinking of crossing into other countries at remote border crossing.
   
   Lonely Planet has excellent sections on Brazil's history, economy and culture. L.P. segregates Brazil into five geographical areas and introduces each city or region by explaining the history and climate. Kudos! The descriptions of the towns and cities are top rate. There are many maps, easy to use and well defined.
   
   Sadly, in this guide, unlike other L.P. guides, there are few sidebars or text boxes that give you interesting tidbits about the country. Also, if you are looking for a guide to help you with Carnival, L.P.'s section is bit anemic (best is Frommer's, see my review). There are many restaurant and accommodation recommendations, but all have terse descriptions that leave you wishing for more.
   
   MONEY: If you are from the European Union, sing praises for the Euro. If you're from the USA, weep. The fall of the dollar's value is very evident in Brazil. Reality check: Rio, a decent hotel (not great a hotel, just decent) is at least $100 and up. A good, not great, meal is at least $20 to $30. I traveled during the "Low Season" and I found that I needed $100-$150 a day to travel at a 3-4 star level and eat OK (not including my airfares). You should add at least 20-30% in high season and at least 60% at Carnival. Backpackers can do it for less, but not near what the guide quotes.
   
   Lonely Planet would have been my first choice if not for the dated coverage. If a new edition comes out, buy it! Still, Lonely Planet is a great backup text to have. My first choice for guides is Frommer's (see my review). I also highly recommend Culture Shock! Brazil 2007 (see my review) for anyone wanting to know more about the ethos and customs of the diverse, colorful country. Happy travels.

2 comments about Insight Guide Brazil (Insight Guides Brazil).

1. A great and informative book with lots of fantastic photographs which raises ones appetite for traveling. It's a good source to help choose destinations and places to go. Besides that it offers a lot of background information which helps appreciating the history and culture of Brazil. It'll sure be one of the books packed in my handluggage to entertain me on the long flight to Brazil.



2. I found this very informative. Will be taking it with me on our upcoming trip. Seemed to be right on about what to expect.

5 comments about Samba.

1. Samba is a highly personal account by a journalist who takes us into the center of the carnival experience in Rio, seen from the point of view of a very poor neighborhood with a rich carnival tradition. Through this we learn worlds about Afro-Brazilian culture, the notion of "exotic" as often applied to the tropics, and about Ms. Guillermoprieto's fascinating way of understanding and relating, as a Mexican, to a powerful Latin tradition quite other than hers. While there are some problems of organization, this is a very informative book, but mostly I found it fun, and it made me want to be in Rio and to dance.



2. This is a good book written by a journalist who consistently produces some of the most insightful work on Latin America in the U.S. print media. Writing from a journalist's perspective about her own experiences as a white Mexican living in Brazil it's a great read. I was captivated when I read it. Other reviewers are correct, there are better studis of all the subjects she covers, and as a Latin American historian, lusophile, and student of Capoeira I could find flaws to; here historical sections are simplistic, etc. But why bother? She did live there and join a Samba school, she freely admits her limitations, concerns, and desires, and she writes like a dream. That is hard to find and worth reading.



3. For an author whose first language is spanish, her skill in writing in english has to be commended -but she ain't Borges. Planning a research trip/adventure for a year in Rio, and then writting about her life there obviously demonstrates Guillermoprieto's ability to earn money by doing what she likes. Her style is journalistic and if you've never visited a third world country you can get a good idea from her observations of what living in one, as an average citizen, is like, eg. people accustomed to little prosperity evidently will go to great lengths for entertainment, and to achieve a feeling of importance. If you want to learn about samba, well- guillermoprieto is not omniscient. Conclusion: If you want to read something, you could do a lot worse than this book, but it's not a keeper. get it from the library.



4. Guillermoprieto is both a skilled writer and a serious scholar. That combination makes this erudite, and exceedingly detailed study of the black underclass in Brazilian society both readable and engaging. She employs an inductive approach, using the culture surrounding the Samba and Carnival in Rio as a base for exploring the status of blacks in Brazilian society and the many contradictions and ironies in light of their prevailing influence in all levels of Brazilian culture.

   The story is fascinating and the author admirable, because in order to learn and effectively represent the culture of the Samba and black Brazilian society (which she pretty effectively demonstrates are in many ways largely synonymous) she not only joined a Samba club in order to participate in Carnival, but also moved into the favelas of Rio.

   Guillermoprieto depicts the injustice of the blacks' fate in Brazil in a dispassionate, yet also very poignant and sympathetic manner. She allows the compelling facts to represent themselves without embellishing them with personal assessments, which makes her writing that much more powerful.

   This is really a great book: a fascinating story about the complex organization and serious part of the Brazilian economy that the Samba and Carnival comprise, and a distinctive and holistic representation of black Brazilian society and the rest of that nation in its reflection.




5. If you are interested in learning the true roots of Samba and Brazilian Carnaval(and not just the obligatory blurbs that you see in guidebooks), then this book is an absolute must for you to read. Alma Guillermoprieto does a superb job describing the rich religious, historical, and socioeconomic roots of Brazilian Carnaval and Samba - both of which have become famous around the world, yet remain remarkably poorly understood.

   Guillermoprieto writes in a very engaging, enjoyable style, which occassionally seems more like an engrossing novel than a non-fiction work. If you have ever been curious to learn more about Brazilian culture, this is the book to start with!

5 comments about Eat Smart in Brazil: How to Decipher the Menu, Know the Market Foods & Embark on a Tasting Adventure (Eat Smart in Brazil).

1. From the authors of Eat Smart in Mexico, comes this new title, an easy-to-use menu guide for travelers to Brazil. It contains useful phrases in Portuguese when ordering and a collection of recipes for chefs who want to cook Brazilian fare at home.



2. Brazil IS NOT made of Indian, Portuguese and African people descent. Brazil was colonized by Portuguese, African, French, Italian, German, and Duth people. Other people that were very expressive in Brazilian history were Chinese, Jewish, Arabic, Spanish..I'm sorry if I'm leaving some nations out of this equation (Brazilian people are a union of many people and cultures!!), but I've never read something SO absurd as this review.
   Thanks



3. Just got back from the trip of a lifetime to Brazil. We visited our former exchange student and his family. We used this book to find out what we were eating (wonderful food!) at every resturant. Even though we were with native Brazilians who spoke English, they often did not know the English words for food.
   We used it in Campinas, Paraty, Rio, and Santa Rita (MG). Near the end of our trip we went through the book and marked which foods were our favorites. I recommend this book to anyone taking their first trip to Brazil



4. I'd like to see more of this kind of book. Written by experts in a readable style, "Eat Smart in Brazil" provides a succinct but informative overview of the country's culinary culture. It includes historical, ethnic and regional overviews, recipes, shopping tips (both for local markets and for when back home), a culinary phrase guide, and two Portuguese-to-English glossaries - one to help when ordering in restaurants and the other to clarify definitions of food names and cooking terminology. The Eat Smart series is published independently, under the Ginkgo Press imprint. Joan and David Peterson are literally eating their way around the world with Ginkgo. Besides Brazil, they've covered Turkey, Indonesia, Mexico, Poland, Morocco, and India. Next up, Peru. Unlike the run-of-the-mill globetrotting guidebook writer, this couple knows its stuff - which, of course, would be food. (Bill Hinchberger is the editor of the BrazilMax website.)



5. EAT SMART IN BRAZIL
   
   Reviewed by Sharon Hudgins, author of The Other Side of Russia: A Slice of Life in Siberia and the Russian Far East
   
   Reading "Eat Smart in Brazil" made my mouth water! I'm a big fan of the "Eat Smart" travel guides for food lovers--and I'm always delighted when another book in this series is published. This second edition of Joan Peterson's "Eat Smart in Brazil" certainly lives up to the series' theme, promising to tell you "How to Decipher the Menu, Know the Market Foods, & Embark on a Tasting Adventure." And what an adventure this is! After an explanation of the historical, geographical, and ethnic influences on Brazilian foods and a description of five different regional cuisines within that huge country, the author then satisfies your desire to eat by providing nearly two dozen recipes for Brazilian dishes from appetizers to breads to desserts.
   
   You'll also want to carry this book with you on your next trip to Brazil, because it contains a comprehensive glossary of food terms and cooking techniques in Portuguese (the language of Brazil), translated into English, as well as an extensive Menu Guide for translating terms that you'll find on menus and cafe chalkboards throughout Brazil. One of my favorite features of the Menu Guide is the author's marginal comments on many of the dishes listed: National Favorite, Regional Classic, Spectacular, Interesting, A Feast, Not to Be Missed, Excellent, Try Them All. Just reading these menu terms makes you want to book the next flight to Rio de Janeiro! Highly recommended!

3 comments about Culture Shock! Brazil: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette (Culture Shock! Guides).

1. I have not finished reading this book entirely, but what I have read is very good. It is easy to read, and from what I already know about Brazil, an accurate description so far. I also like the fact that the book definitely tells about Brazil from the perspective of an outsider that is not familiar with the culture. It will prepare travelers to not be shocked, and rather, to appreciate what they experience.



2. I have read and reread this excellent ethonography. I read Culture Shock! Brazil before coming to Brazil, then again while traveling in Brazil. Volker Poelzl has done his homework. He has given readers brilliant profile of Brazil. This is no easy task, as Brazil is as large as the continental United States and equally as diverse.
   
   Culture Shock! will give you everything that you need for a primer education on Brazil. It will specially be valuable to those who are coming to live for a while and for along with a travel guide like Frommer's (Strongly Recommended - see my review) will open the country up to you. I especially appreciated his sections on synergistic religions: Candomble, Kardecism, Umbanda, Shamanism, Feticaria (witchcraft) etc. Excellent.
   
   Brazil is as dynamic as its Carnivals. It is also contradictory and contrasting, as seen in its wealth and poverty. The towering new high-rise buildings, that look down on the sprawling slums point to a country with the world's 12th largest economy, yet 1/3 of the people live in abject poverty. Volker is not Pollyannaish in his writing about Brazil. He is critical of the antiquated social elitism, cronyism, corruption, police violence, gross injustice and dysfunctional socials systems that continues to foster the widespread poverty - "Brazil is a democracy. But what I see here is a wretched, sad situation where there is no justice." Yet, he also shows how the people of Brazil, in spite of poverty, have their family, friends, love, sexuality, music and dance.
   
   NOTE: Volker Poelzl's guide should get a five star rating, BUT there is a serious flaw: the binding gives out after one use and the pages fall out. This shoddy workmanship is the responsibility of the publisher (Marshall Cavendish - Singapore). However, if you can hold it together with rubber bands, this is a valuable and 'Strongly Recommended' guide.



3. Book is well prepared to get first glance of how really the culture is and how one should behave. As i got a lot of contacts with Brazilians before going to Brazil, reading this book just confirmed the ideas i have understood from them. The book didn't surprise me but it definitely taught more details and confirmed my understanding.

2 comments about Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon.

1. Captain William Lewis Herndon gives a very well written narrative of what it was like to explore South America in 1851-1852. He took the first United States' expedition from the west side of the Peruvian Andes,then over and through the Brazilian Amazon to the Atlantic Ocean. His desriptions of the local people and their cultures, along with how they survived, their agricultural methods and practices are fascinating. He also includes geological, botanical and zoological observations all along the way. He describes how difficult it was to cross the Andes at elevations above 17,000 feet, the mining industries in the mountains, what kinds of plants grow here and there, the animals they encounter. A few unbelievable (but verifiable?) accounts were of the tailed people who lived up the Jurua tributary, the three and a half foot people, blue mud, etc. These were all enjoyable to read. The only drawback was the overall purpose of the expedition. It was a way to exploit the Andes Mountains and Amazon of their natural resources, from the gold, silver, etc in the mountains to harvesting the forests for commercial use. Just like Gary Kinder said in his foreword to the book, if Herndon was alive today, he may have a different opinion. A very good read though if you enjoy exploration.



2. ... but told in a much more stylish and readable manner. I bought this book on the strength of reading about Capt. Herndon's sacrifice in Gary Kinder's "Ship of Gold...". He seemed to epitomise the old-style captain, caring about his passengers, crew and above all his ship, and I was interested to read more about the man.

   I was not disappointed; what could have been a dusty tome full of only facts and figures, emerges as a rivetting account of the trials endured during the trip, and vivid descriptions of a land that was as yet virtually unknown to the 'civilised' world, told as a very readable narrative. This easy style is what captured the hearts and minds of the Anmerican (and European) public in a book which went into several reprints of 10,000s (as opposed to the usual Congress print run of 100+!).

   It also captured the imagination of a certain Samuel Clemens, who, after reading the book, immediately took steamer from St.Louis to New Orleans to get a boat to the Amazon. Imagine his disappointment when he found no passage ... sitting, bemoaning his ill luck, he hears the cries of the steamers "Mark twain!" - the rest is history.

   I have one reservation (hence only ****); during his editing & research for the book, Mr.Kinder deletes a lot of sections that I personally would have found very interesting, such as crops grown, goods & minerals available and costs of trade items. If these had been included as an appendix, I think it would have added to the charm of the book.

   Nevertheless, one of the best pieces of historical travel writing I have ever read.

5 comments about A Death in Brazil: A Book of Omissions.

1. This book started out as a gripping travel narrative...if only it had stayed that way! Instead of keeping to the flavorful portrait of life in Recife, the author keeps wandering into various sidetracks of Brazilian history, which don't seem to be particularly connected with anything else in the book and are boring to boot. If he'd have stuck to modern Brazil and used its scandals as a backdrop for his travel writing, he'd have had a much more coherent and readable book.
   Well, that and pore over his style manuals so he understood the difference between italics and quotes. Unaccountably (and annoyingly), passages that should be in quotation marks are set italic. As another reviewer says, it does drive you crazy after a while.
   This book could've easily seen 4 to 5 stars had it stayed with one theme rather than going all tangential and if somebody working on it had been clued in on their typefaces. I think it merits a rewrite, though, and if it got one it'd be a true treat to read.



2. Gripping book about Brazil that captures the feel and contrasts of the country's many dimensions.
   
   The Collor/PC Farias story is just one of many. Just read the paper everyday in Brazil.
   
   Like Mr Stroll, I also think the author does injustice to ex-president Fernando Henrique Cardoso and idolizes Lula too much. Especially since there is an epitath to the book. Lula has now governed for 4 years and :
   
   - continued Fernando Henrique's sound economic policies, which were the basis for his government
   - his government (and party and allies) were caught up in a series of corruption scandals, which would make a book by itself
   - has now been reelected (thanks to sound economic policies ...)
   - Collor has also been elected as senator and invited by Lula to contribute to the new government ..



3. This is the book to read on a trip to the Northeast. It's well written, but not an easy read. The author's personal indulgence, tastes and quirks may sometimes irk the reader, but he has such a good grasp of Brazilian literature and politics that eventually these intrusions don't matter. The characters -- from ordinary people to the current and former Presidents -- are masterpieces. This book is an eye-opener, as timely as the current headlines. The tales of Alagoas may seem like magical realism, but it is all true.



4. I really enjoyed this book. I approached it with apprehension because of the mediocre reviews some other readers gave it, but Robb really drew me in from the first chapter (in which he recounts how he almost got murdered in Rio de Janeiro). While his tendency to jump from theme to theme (from current political actors to food to conquest to everyday life in Recife to historical wars like Palmares and Canudos and back), I found the jumping around invigorating--it was kind of like reading a novel whose chapters end in cliffhangers, but at the conclusion the reader feels truly enlightened. His narrations of the Brazilian colony and state's quests to stamp out the rebel communities of Palmares (a quilombo, or escaped slave colony) and Canudos (a religious community formed by economic refugees) are especially gripping, though Mario Vargas Llosa's "The War of the End of the World" still gives a better picture of Canudos (although Vargas Llosa's interpretation of it as a community of religious extremists may be flawed). Robb also paints in-depth portraits of important Brazilian writers, such as Euclides da Cunha and Machado de Assis.
   
   The best parts for me were the lucid and entertaining stories of the rise of Lula da Silva and the rise and fall of Fernando Collor de Mello. (On a side note, if I had read this book prior to my trip to Brazil last year, I might have appreciated the otherwise dull but pleasant city of Maceio much more than I did.) I agree with other critics that Robb dismisses Fernando Henrique Cardoso's presidency too quickly and unfairly, but that fact hardly detracts from the book's strengths.



5. I'm a big fan of Peter Robb's Midnight in Sicily. About that masterpiece, The Economist called it "simply the best book in English about Italy." The author's latest work, A Death in Brazil, promised and delivered much of the same - a heady, erudite mix of Mr. Robb's skillful interspersing of equal parts history, political machinations, and personal travelogue. For good measure, like Midnight in Sicily you also get a gastronomic tour de force. Robb appreciates the regional dishes and describes what brings them to the table as well as what they taste like going down, what he drank with it, who served him, who he was dining with, other characters in the restaurant that night...you get the idea. As noted in an excellent review in the UK's Telegraph, A Death in Brazil is, like Midnight in Sicily, "impossible to corral into a single genre" and "a dazzling testament to [Robb's] appetite for knowledge and understanding." Exactly. Mr. Robb's home base for this tale in a restaurant in Recife called Bangüê. His descriptive writing puts you square in the middle of the place, with proprietor Vavá chatting you up and Vavá's wife Dona Lia working the Burroughs accounting machine at the bar.
   
   For me, the best parts are the political stuff detailing the rapid rise and equally rapid fall of Brazil's president (1990 - 1992) Fernando Collor de Mello and his personal fixer and moneyman, PC Farias. Robb also details the rise of the Workers' Party and of its leader, Luis Inácio 'Lula' da Silva. We get all sorts of delightful asides from the author. 'Lula' means 'squid' in Portuguese...he is so-named because in his early days, the now-President's unruly mane of hair draped his head like a mass of tentacles. Who knew?
   
   Another good touch is the hand-drawn maps of Alex Snellgrove. There's one of Brazil as whole and another providing more detail on the northeast section of the country where Robb does the majority of his reporting. Every place Robb mentioned in the text is marked clearly on one or both maps.

No comments about Brazil (Exploring Countries of the Wor).

5 comments about Lusty Traveler: The Complete Sex Tourism Guide of Erotic Vacations for Men, Rio De Janeiro.

1. Bought after searching Amazon for a singles vacation guide.
   Great book. Advice for fishing, hotels, and most importantly, sex tourism.
   
   Complete travel advice on: visa requirements, tour companies to use, taxis, hotels, and the brothels and bars to check out. For daytime activity, you'll find all the tourist stuff as well. Short, sweet and to the point. A fun read.



2. I was so surprised on how accurate this book is. Rio is a true male bachelor's paradise. One of my male friends that travels the world put me on to this book. Highly recommended to anyone who wants to be in this fraternity of world class sex tourists.



3. It's a firsthand insider's perspective that you won't find in any other book: what to do, where to go, places to avoid, etc. Where to meet local women.
   
   I saved time and money using this guide, and after my vacation can say it's accurate, and helps you find the best party spots without screwing around. If you're single or just looking to mingle, this book is what you want.



4. My friends and I went to Rio for a bachelors party. We had the best time and owe much of it to this book. It's anyones guess if the groom will actually go through with the wedding. One of the guys in our crew booked a hotel that was not listed as "guest friendly" and he had to pay 150 extra just to bring a girl back. Don't get ripped like that, buy the book and save the hassle.



5. What more can you say. Funny, accurate, and fits in your pocket. Everything you need to prepare for your Rio vacation. A great investment for guys that are traveling all the way to Brazil.

1 comments about Pantanal: South America's Wetland Jewel.

1. Pantanal - just one word that makes you itch to see for yourself the wonders of this magical wetland in the heart of Brazil! Dozens of caimans lurking in the current, mouths agape; a big jaguar comes stalking through the understory at the shoreline; giant otters appear out of thin air right next to the boat; a tapir crosses the lagoon in marvelous light; a group of hyacinth macaws gathers on a fence of a fazenda, and in the savanna a young giant anteater clings cutely to his mother's fur - wildlife photographers' dreams, subjects everyone exploring the Pantanal with a camera longs for.
   Theo Allofs got all these images - thanks to his patience, photographic excellence and his cooperation with Conservation International (CI), opening doors to subjects of some of the most beautiful farms in the area.
   Large pictures, great colors and fine printing - impressive, even at a first glance. A closer look reveals that among some 150 pictures there is no weak or even mediocre one! A photographic gourmet-piece and yet, even more: the publisher and the CI writers found an elegant and well balanced way of presenting pictures and heaps of information on such a vast region, its human inhabitants and breathtaking biodiversity. A fine example of a cooperation between nature conservation and nature photography!