The Story of a Country Transformed
Two decades ago Brazil had a debt that made some Third World countries blush, but today it has the world's eighth largest economy, poised to overtake France. It has achieved energy independence and, with the discovery of the largest oil field in the last century, is becoming a major exporter of crude oil to the United States. With its successful bid for the 2016 Olympics, Brazil, at last, is ready to take its place on the world stage. In this richly narrated and textured look at the country today, New York Times reporter Larry Rohter gives us the authoritative account of the culture and politics of a country that endlessly fascinates Americans.
Rohter delivers the first modern look at today’s Brazil, uncovering:
- how Brazilians handle the burden of being custodians of the Amazon rainforest;
- Brazil’s latest exports, from the samba, supermodels, and soccer, to airplane parts;
- the myth of Brazil’s sexually charged culture, with three-quarters of the population devoutly Roman Catholic;
- how drug-controlled favelas thrive amidst the world’s highest standard of living.
Brazil continues to be a country fraught with contradictions which Rohter reveals through interviews with every important political business, cultural, and religious leader on the scene. Critics have said that he knows the country better than Brazilians themselves. This is a cutting-edge look at a country that will be a major player on the world stage coming years.
Table of Contents
- Introduction: The "Country of the Future" Reveals Itself
- A History of Booms and Busts
- Sin and Salvation South of the Equator
- The Myth of a Racial Paradise
- The Tropical Lifestyle
- Creativity, Culture, and "Cannibalism"
- Industrial Giant, Agricultural Superpower
- Energy to Burn: Petroleum, Ethanol, and Hydropower
- The Amazon: Nationalism and Paranoia in the Jungle
- Becoming a "Serious Country"
- Politics After Lula and FHC
- Ackowledgements
- Bibliography
- Index