No comments about Novas Travessias: Contemporary Brazilian Photography.

No comments about Guide Bresil (BRAZIL UNIBANCO TRAVEL GUIDE).

No comments about Southern empire: : Brazil (Invitation to travel series).

1 comments about Rio de Janeiro (Great Cities).

1. Rio de Janeiro may be the most beautiful setting for a city in the world - it is a photographer's dream. There are pictures of beaches, mountains, cliffs, parks, and gardens, but about half of the book is devoted to far less interesting pictures of buildings. I have nothing against buildings, indeed I live in a building, but it's a skinny book, and more architectural shots means less of the natural grandeur of the city is shown.

   Most annoying is the many lame choices of pictures for the full page spreads. Rather than choose the sorts of pictures that really show off the city in all of its glory, they chose many "artsy" pictures of graffiti, a pole with lots of wires, etc.

   The city is beautiful, and this does come through in many of the pictures, the 2 star rating is my opinion of the book given potential of the city.

   Note to the authors: Take a look at the book Spectacular Israel, that's a book that lives up to, and almost exceeds the potential of its subject.

No comments about Recollections Of An Ill-Fated Expedition To The Headwaters Of The Madeira River In Brazil.

No comments about A visit to the South Seas, in the U.S. ship Vincennes: During the years 1829 and 1830 : with notices of Brazil, Peru, Manilla, the Cape of Good Hope, and St. Helena.

1 comments about Brazil (Oxfam Country Profiles Series).

1. In her book "Brazil", Jan Rocha itemizes a good selection of interesting and important national problems but then bogs down in anachronistic ideology. I purchased the book as an introduction to the country of Brazil and as a guidepost into more detailed topics, as well as to see Oxfam's perspective on these various issues. The book does well in summarizing familiar problems such as authoritatian politics and the minority landed oligarchy as well as obscure ones such as attempts to relate a gatherers' economy of babassu nut collection to the twenty-first political economy.
   Problems within the book emerge when it tries to discuss these issues using a vocabulary somewhat related to 1960's Marxism. The "good guys" are the workers and aboriginal peoples who are shamelessly exploited by the "bad guys",the government-oligarchy
   coalition. The middle class is curiously omitted suggesting the inuendo that perhaps it does not exist at all. For example after mentionning the government policy of rapid industrialization starting in the 1950's the book seems to imply that it was done without a domestic market.
   No one denies that terrible attrocities have taken place in Brazil but this carping on negatives of the past fails to achieve a constructive purpose. The book mentions that the government set up a National Institute for Colonisation and Land Reform which has power to confiscate holdings of unproductive lands for redistribution (a very interesting idea for a developping country) but then it does not explain why it has seldom been used or even if it still exists.
   Perhaps the last chapter on Carnival (holiday) is the best one. In this one case the book changes tack and identifies a positive role of Carnival by involving people of various factions within national culture. If other chapters were as good, it would be a highly recommendable book but as it stands it limits itself to identifying national issues and then presents a somewhat anachronistic ideological polemic for those who might appreciate it.

No comments about Jungle quest.

No comments about Brazil (Living in the World Collection).

No comments about The Brazilians: People of Tomorrow.