I read several of Mario Vargas Llosa smaller (but also superb) works before deciding to attempt to read this one, his masterpiece. It is truly one of the more memorable and profound books that I have read. The structure of the book doesn't divert too much from that of the typical epic novel- dozens of characters, numerous subplots, and events of historical significance. Most of the action takes place in the remote, arid backlands of northwestern Brazil. In this land devastated by drought and poverty, a religious leader known as the Counselor manages to recruit a sizable number of miserable and scorned creatures to be his disciples. We are introduced to such characters as the Little Blessed One, the Lion of Natuba, the Mother of Men, Satan Jao, and a host of others who are social outcasts for one reason or another. It is around this time that the monarchy in overthrown and a republic established; taxes are now to be collected, a national census is to adminstered, and church and state are to be separated. The Counselor and his followers regard these new developments as a direct threat and signs of the impending apocalypse, and they set up their own town, Canudos. The newly formed state can obviously not tolerate these renegades, and the book basically relates the war between Canudos and the waves of military forces that are sent to annihilate them. Vargas Llosa spares no details when relating battle scenes; the reviewer on the inside cover of the book was right in calling this one of the bloodiest books of the century. We are presented with images of corpses hanging from trees, ants devouring the open wounds of soldiers, and decapitated heads on stakes. It is perhaps this gritty realism that makes this book so memorable, though. Another aspect of the author's writing that makes this book so convincing is his ability to sympathetically portray all of the competing interests. Although it is probably fair to say that the Counselor's followers are depticted mainly as victims, Llosa also argues from the point of view of the military, the aristocracy, the republican government, a nearsighted journalist travelling with the army, and even a Scottish anarchist. At the end of this book, one is quite uncertain who, if anyone, is on the right side and who is on the wrong side. But I think it is this moral ambiguity that Vargas Llosa is attempting to create in our minds. In presenting this true historical event in the form of an epic novel, Vargas Llosa has given us a masterful tale of devotion, despair, misery, and personal redemption.

The War of the End of the World is an impossibly ambitious book which nevertheless succeeds completely, and in the process confirms that Vargas Llosa deserves to be considered among the great authors of all time. Unlike his other books, which are either frankly autobiographical or significantly based on the author's personal experience, this is a straightforward historical novel, taking place in 1890s northeastern Brazil. It is also a real novel of ideas, confronting very seriously such timeless topics as the relationship of individual to society and of faith and personal belief to law and social order, the source of state authority, and truth/beauty and means/ends issues. While somewhat "modern" in style - the narrative does not proceed in a linear fashion, perspectives shift sharply from one character to the next, and "truth" is often in the eye of the beholder - the book really aspires to be a Great Historical Novel in a classic mode, like The Red and the Black or War and Peace. (Personally, I think it is stronger than either of those; at the very least it belongs on the same shelf.) In other words, it is no post-modern mirror-job, but a serious attempt to engage all thoughtful people - including those who ordinarily do not care for fiction - in a subtle and thorough consideration of the factors that create Peru's Shining Path, or Waco, Jonestown, MOVE, Hamas, etc. Vargas Llosa even manages the trick of being both sympathetic to and critical of all sides. The relationship of the book to the author's subsequent (aborted) political career is also fascinating - it is difficult to believe that an author whose extradinarily acute, and depressing, analyses of politics and ideology would be willing to enter the actual world of politics, yet it is easy to see how he yearns for a real-world solution to the failures of the rich to understand the poor, of the poor to understand the rich, and of organized government to appreciate the value of people's actual lives. I recommend this book to everyone (except perhaps readers who cannot handle some extreme and sustained violence in the last part of the book).

This is perhaps Vargas Llosa's best novel and a must for all those well-meaning readers in the developed world who eagerly idealize Latin American revolutions without knowing anything about these countries.

The book is based on the true story of Antonio Vicente Mendes Maciel ("O Conselheiro"), a mad prophet of sorts -kind of a weird Christian ayatollah of the late XIX Century- who ignited, in the most remote corner of Brazil, a bloody uprising among the lowly against Money, Property, Progress, Law, Army, Republic and State, and everything else he found oppressive, sinful and evil. In return, the Brazilian government reacted with indifference, disbelief, concern, anger, outrage and total annihilation.

Little by little, Vargas Llosa transforms this obscure anecdote into a monumental epic of Tolstoiesque proportions that not only hooks you on the plot but reveals the richly interwoven tapestry of Brazilian -and therefore Latin American- society; its illusions and delusions, its races and classes, its loves and hates, its fear of the modern and its contempt for the past, and the fanaticism that pervades both attitudes (to date).

I read this mammoth masterpiece during Christmass '94 at the midst of the Zapatista revolt in Chiapas, and it was sad to realize how little have we changed our societies. Our development always seems to engender inequality and our social struggles to defend backwardness and ignorance. Vargas Llosa is acutely aware of this, and he conveys it in his story splendidly, without preaching, without agendas, without aloofness and without letting you put down the book. Should you decide to read it, ask for a few days off!

Maverick has a good claim to must read status for those interested in modern management in that it is probably the best exposition of a democratic workplace in successful practice. As both the story of a company and the autobiography of a unique business leader, it is of interest in various ways.

Semler's account of how he arrived at Semco's democratic organizational culture is a fascinating case of personal growth. Some readers, however, may be less interested in "how I got there" and some of the Brazilian background than in its account what Semco has actually achieved in workplace governance. In this respect, Maverick is a seminal book, because Semco's management style is so unusual. Just reading about it is a liberating experience!

As to practical application, the book has some very readable sections such as the excerpts from the famous Semco operating manual, its glossary (which has "valuably eccentric" ideas), and a test for employees to rate supervisors. These sections give a very good introduction to empowerment and workplace democracy that can be read usefully anybody.

Put Maverick's operating philosophy together with Tom Peter's reinventing work ideas (most particularly in his The Circle of Innovation). Then, add in some Greenleaf servant leadership and combine with some shared vision (a la Chapter 11 of Senge's Fifth Discipline). You then have an excellent recipe for best practice 21st century management. More books like this showing in detail how advanced ideas actually have been successfully implemented in the workplace are very much needed.

This is one of the finest gifts I have ever received in my life, and from one of the finest gentlemen I have known so far!

A wonderful book to read and an insightful journey into the entrepreneurial experience of a man who is not only a good leader but a wonderful human being too - Ricardo Semler. It is really difficult to carry business and personal life on the same track and yet not mix them together. This was exactly what Mr. Semler has done to his business making sure his employees get benefited too.

There are a lot of multinationals working somewhat on the thoughts and ideas of Mr. Semler but no company achieved the status that Semco enjoys. A company where all human values are respected, where workers are not questioned, where there are no set times to enter office, where there are no dress codes, where employees decide there own salaries, where adults are treated like adults and given the respect they deserve - that is what Semco is all about.

There are unions of workers almost in all organizations - and they are in Semco too, but with a difference. The rules set for unions are absolutely humanistic and makes sure that the decisions of Unions are respected too. This we see in action when the union goes on strike. The rules Semco follows are somewhat different from other companies. These are as follows: -

1.Treats everyone as adults 2.Tell the strikers that no one will be punished when they return to work. Then don't punish anyone. 3.Don't keep records of who came to work and who led the walkout. 4.Never call the police or try to break up a picket line. 5.Maintain all benefits. 6.Don't block worker's access to the factory, or the access of union representatives to the workers. But insist that union leaders respect the decision of those who want to work, just as the company respects the decision of those who don't. 7.Don't fire anyone during or after the strike, but make everyone see that a walkout is an act of aggressiveness.

This is just one example - there are a lot of other things, which makes Semco a real Masterpiece. Semco is a smorgasbord that signifies all possible qualities of a successful business with complete humane values incorporated in its decision-making.

I would suggest this book to every senior personnel in any industrial set-up, to every entrepreneur, to every management student, and to all those who love to read real management and successful stories.

This is in deed a great book and I would suggest it as a must read for even those who are not related to business, because it also teaches the humanistic side of any company whatsoever the business conditions are.

A must read for anybody who loves to read.

Happy reading!

As a management consultant I found this book very useful indeed - much of it is directly applicable to shop-floor and pressure-politics situations - the 20-page cartoon "rulebook" at the end is more than worth the price of the book itself - buy it! And if you have the guts, apply what it says, too: It's been known for some time that organizations are designed according to "command and control" principles that very poorly match how humans are really built to behave. More complex self-ordering behavior is always observed when any lack of hierarchy exists, and the hierarchies that do emerge tend to be more effective than those that were designed by managers with experience in previous eras. Semler just chose to trust it more than, say, Tom Peters. Prof. Nicholson, head of London Business School recently wrote (in the Harvard Business Review) that Semler's model was the only one to really respect "stone age nature" of human behavior (the many insights from evolutionary psychology that tell us that we're far more often feeling our way through decisions than thinking our way through).

Workplace democracy is not an "experiment" nor a threat to productivity, it's a working fact in a hundred mature industries in a dozen countries - we have applied Semler's principles to systems integration, software development, finance, etc., and his experience is well worth spending a few hours on.

To view a country and write as seen through their people is a difficult task. Errol Uys' re-release of Brazil is a blazing success. This book creates an image and feel for the country that truly leaves a concrete imprint in the mind of the reader. This well-researched book is a facinating epic for fans of historical fiction as well as lovers of non-fiction.

Having both lived in and travelled throughout Brazil in my youth, as well as having studied Portuguese and Brazilian History, Economics and Sociology in college, I consider myself to be a true "Brazil Nut". A while back, I reviewed a book on Amazon.com, Brazil, Five Centuries of Change, by Thomas Skidmore, which I gave accolades to, and I will applaud Uys' marvelous work Brazil for the same reason: it gives both the novice and the Brazil expert an excellent understanding for the complex history, culture and geography of this little known Latin American giant.

Having lived in and travelled throughout Brazil, as well as having studied Portuguese, Brazilian sociology and Brazilian economics in college, I consider myself to be a true "Brazil Nut"...On Amazon.com, I have highly recommended Brazil, 5 Centuries of Change, by Thomas Skidmore, and now I will highly recommend Brazil by Erol Lincoln Uys for mostly the same reasons...it gives both the novice and the Brazil expert a true feeling for the fascinating history, culture and geography of this little known giant of Latin America. I especially like the final updated chapter which brings the reader up to the 500th anniversary of Pedro Cabral's 1500 Discovery of Brazil.

This book is a collection of short essays on Brazil. I found at least half to be quite interesting, though I probably skimmed about a quarter of them. Many of the essays frequently give a first hand account of life as a small farmer, favela resident or fisherman in Brazil. These essays capture and explain to the English reader the hopes, values and experiences of actual Brazilians. Most English readers gain their understanding of Brazil only second hand through academics or journalists. This book offers a fresh, reality based perspective on Brazil for English readers who haven't learned about Brazil outside of academia, the New York Times, or the beaches of Rio.

From exerpts of historical claims to letters from diplomats, from essays on slavery to descriptions of food, this book gives insights on the spirit and history of Brazil in easy to read snippets. A picture of a people emerges from original sources and non-academic evaluations that adds debth to what you will see when you go there.

I brought this book in Los Angeles on the way back from a trip to Disney with my children. I finished it almost when I arrived home. The book has great insight and should be read by Brazilians, because it presents things as they are, not as they are supposed to be. Maybe the book will be públished in Brazil some day. I hope so.

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

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

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.

Freyre did extensive research for "The Masters and the Slaves, A Study in the Development of Brazilian Civilization", an informative and stimulating social history of Brazil. However, not all of what is written should be taken at face value.

The book was written more than 50 years ago and Freyre, like any other historian or ethnologist, unavoidably comes to the table with cultural and personal biases transparent to himself.

Freyre makes a number of presumptions, sometimes contradictory, sometimes a bit absurd from today's perspective, about the sexual attributes, habits and dispositions of the Amerindians, peoples of African descent and the Portuguese. Portuguese men are categorized as oversexed (over and over again), Amerindian women as ever willing sexual partners while the Africans are determined to be less sexual because they use music and dancing to stimulate their sexual urges (!). Then, just to confuse the reader, Freyre talks about Africans escaping to the Brazilian bush and 'raping' the (ever willing?) Amerindian woman. Did these alleged rapists bring their drummers with them? All three groups can step forward and take offense at Freyre's presumptions.

In the year 2000 we would interpret Freyre's presumptions as racist, but we have the benefit of hindsight and he didn't. In his time he would have been considered forward looking and anything but a racist. The reader needs to take note of the author's presumptions, biases and preoccupations and then continue reading. All things considered, this is a remarkable and valuable piece of scholarship.

Freyre's Masters and Slaves forms what is considered by many to be a trilogy of books published in the 1930's that revolutionized Brazilian Studies. The other are two books,[by other authors]... Freyre, the most popular and readable of the three, was a Pernambucano (from the sugar cane regions around Recife) and often blurs the distinction between Brazil as a whole and sugar-cane regions of Brazil. His methodology reflects his education, a US oriented 1930's anthropological perspective (he was a student of Franz Boas). This book in particular treats a very specific historical event: the development of a sugar-based agricultural economy in late 1500s, early 1600s in northeastern coastal Brazil. The book makes the generalization that Brazilian culture as a whole evolved from this cultural base, and places little importance on the parallel development of cattle-based cultures in the northeastern interior or the primitive jungle trading activities of Sao Paulo's city fathers (Raposo Tavares, etc).

Because of its focus on a very provincial-specific economy and culture, I would criticize Freyre for offering a very incomplete study of "Brazilian Civilization" in this book. In his defense, however, this book is too often read as a stand-alone study, when in fact Freyre intended for it to form a trilogy with another two books...The former traces how the rural sugar-based culture of early northeastern Brazil affected and was affected by the emergence of cities and urban life-patterns in places like Recife, Salvador, and Rio de Janeiro in the mid 1600s through the end of the 18th century. The latter book follows the study further, through the independence period and especially the twilight of the Empire, establishment of the Republic in the 188o's. If you read one, I recommend all three books to appreciate Freyre's thesis, that the original sugar-culture that developed and was discussed in Masters and Slaves had a lasting impact on Brazil's evolution as a whole, even in areas and regions where sugar cane and slavery were never established bases for economic development. This vision of Brazil remains incomplete without an understanding of Sao Paulo and the south, a region which today is arguably the strongest center of influence in the country. To complete that, I would recommend some books by [other authors]

Gilberto Freyre is now considered one of the grestest thinkers of Brazil, alongside Sérgio Buarque de Hollanda. As mrs. Laidman recognized, we can't look for his work as if it's been written yesterday: when many people all over Americas (both North and South) believed that "whitening population" was the solution to all problems; when fascists and nazis took power in Europe, Freyre looked at mixture of races and saw it as a positive feature, something that could lead our people to a better place, God knows where, but better. During the 60's and 70's his ideas were fiercely attacked by new generations of sociologists and historians - and that's good, that's how science advances. But, they attacked him, mostly, for his political positions. Today, people rediscovered Freyre, understood him on his own time. Yes, his presumptions about sex addicted people, indian women burning in desire and so on are considered today too much. But the essence, the mix of races and cultures as a positive fact, the understanding of Portuguese government as something absent and masters of plantions, on the absence of State, rulling their slaves and families and regions, masters as the actual power in colonial Brazil, is considered a remarkable way to understand our country and it's people. By the way, many people in Black Movement also recognizes Freyre and his role in understand Brazil's black influences. Despite his presumptions, Freyre is more up to date than ever.

It's about time this book was back in print! And an updated version no less! The book primarily relates a blow-by-blow account of director Terry Gilliam's struggle to get studio executives to release his film "Brazil" without first 'dumbing it down' for the American market. But the book also succeeds on another level by giving you glimpses into the filmmaker's vision for the film and leaves you wondering how much more the film could have been if not for the harsh reality that movies are a business. A 'must have' for any fan of the movie.

Based on the reviews so far, I bought this book from Amazon.com and received it yesterday. It was so gripping, I finished it that evening. After seeing films like THE PLAYER and talking to aquaintences who like predictable movies with happy endings, I figured the big studios discouraged original, thought-provoking films. But this book shows how they try to rationalize it. I liked how Jack Mathews tried to be objective and show both sides and I was amazed at the differences between LA and NY critics and how they affect films. Talk about too many cooks in the kitchen!

Even if you don't think much of the film BRAZIL, if you love interesting films and want to know why it's rare to see one come out, read this book. I'm sure Terry Gilliam isn't alone in his battles with studios and critics. If you did like BRAZIL, you'll also get a glimpse of Gilliam's creativity with some of his storyboards, plus you get the entire script of the film with some annotations. After reading this book, I got a great behind-the-scenes look of not only how a film comes about, but how it gets marketed to the public as well.

Terry Gilliam's satirical film (usually referred to as being science fiction though its actually the furthest from that) Brazil is one of the greatest unseen film of the past few decades. While the film has a strong cult following, most mainstream audiences never had a chance to see this film and the few that did found themselves confronted not with Gilliam's original vision but instead with a severely shortened and defanged bastardization that was edited under the supervision of less-than-visionary studio head Sid Sheinberg.

How this came to be is the subject of Jack Matthews' fascinating book, The Battle of Brazil which follows the creation of this masterpiece from the germ of inspiration to the film's triumphant success at the 1985 Los Angeles Film Critics Awards. Along the way, we get a wonderful view into the heads of both Gilliam and Sheinberg. (Though the book is clearly on Gilliam's side, Sheinberg is not presented extremely unfairly. If he comes across as a bit of an unimaginative ogre at times -- well, that's because he was.) We get the full details of Gilliam's battles with Sheinberg over both the length and the tone of the film and, in one of the book's best chapters, an in-depth analysis of the differences between the two versions. This chapter, I think, beautifully illustrates how, just through selective editing, you can change the entire feel of a film without reshooting a single shot. Much as how you can't help staring at a car wreck, there's a sick fascination with how Sheinberg was able to change Brazil from one of the greatest films of all time to a bland, unmemorable love story without any apparent sense of humor.

The behind-the-scenes details of the making of the film itself are anecdote filled and a great read with candid details that cover everything from how Gilliam's original vision evolved during the shooting to his on-set difficulties with actress Kim Griest. Especially amusing to me were the lists of actors also considered for the lead role of Sam. One's mind boggles at some of the suggestions (Tom Cruise!?) and makes Jonathan Pryce's sly lead performance all the more appreciated.

The last half of the book contains Gilliam's shooting script for his version of Brazil, along with copious footnotes that clear up several of the obscurities (i.e., what the singing telegram girl is singing, what Michael Palin's daughter says to Sam) that have occasionally confused even the most devoted of audiences. Its a brilliant script to boost.

Don't buy this book if you want a deeper understanding of the origins, philosophy or history of Capoeira. This basically covers a mere introduction to the art form and is not meant for the Capoeira enthusiast.

The Little Capoeira Book is one of the best books to be ever written on capoeira. Everything from the history, music and movements of capoeira. Highly Recommended.

This is most definitely the best Capoeira book that I have read and many will agree with me. The book starts off by giving an in-depth history of the Brazilian art. No one knows exactly how Capoeira started or what its original purposes were. However, there are many theories. Unlike most books that present one theory and proclaim it to be the truth, this book gives the most popular theories and gives reasons why they may or may not be true. This book also discusses some of the most famous Capoeiristas and what effects they have had on the art. In addition, it goes on to describe how the two major branches of Capoeira (Angola and Regional) came about and what their differences are.

Next is a description of the jogo or game. This is the actual application of Capoeira. It is vaguely similar to sparring, but is very different in purpose and style. The music of Capoeira, which is played during all jogo is also described along with its main instrument the berimbau.

The last half of the book deals with the movements and techniques of Capoeira such as: offensive and defensive movements, basic kicks, takedowns, advanced kicks and movements, head butts, hand strikes, and knee and elbow strikes. Each of the techniques and maneuvers are vividly depicted by drawings that are very easy to understand and learn from. There is also an explanation of both Angola and Regional versions of most of the techniques. This book gives a very good description of the history, game, and philosophy of Capoeira. While at the the same time it is the best training manual out there. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is in the least bit interested in this brazilian art.

Even though I don't read romance books that often, i have to admit this one was kewl. I used to belief romantic books were about some barbaric men using women, and calling it love,while the heroes are empty headed females who cry at the slightest thing. But this one had a very strong female character who had her own mind. I loved both of the characters and laughed at the struggle Ben had to go through to get Jillian.This the third book by Linda Howard I have read, and I enjoyed them all with the exception of A Game of Chance.

Linda Howard is my favorite romance author and this is her best book. Recently re-released, this is a must read. Jillian Sherwood is the most competent heroine ever, an archaelogist who is looking for a lost Amazon warrior city. Ben Lewis is a brash river guide who leads the expedition. Together, they sizzle in the rain forest. Worth re-reading.

Heart of Fire is the first book by Linda Howard that I have read and it will be the first of many, if this book is any indication of her talent. From the beginning, the legend of the Empress diamond and the lore of the Amazons grabs your attention and you are hooked. I found I could not read fast enough, to find out what would happen next. I think it is proof of Howard's writing abilities that she makes this story believable... it's an adventure, plain and simple, but it also has an amazing love story, that of Jillian and Ben. To me, Ben seems the ultimate in masculinity: strength, confidence, a surprising sense of caring, everything you could want in a male lead character and then some. His determination to win Jillian begins as a plot to bed her but slowly he realizes he's attracted to her mind and strong sense of purpose as well as her body. Jillian is also a great character. She has brains, strength, and a wonderfully saracastic sense of humor. Her love for her father and desire to prove his professional credibility, even though he has been dead for years, are what drives her to seek out the Anzars and the Empress diamond... and this trip in the jungle is what draws she and Ben together. The sexual tension between them can only be described as electric. And when this tension finally becomes something more... all I can say is that you'll need a fan to cool yourself down! Linda Howard has written a great story, and if you are a reader of romance, you should read Heart of Fire. You will not be disappointed.

The Brazilian Sound is good as far as it goes - a who's who list and discography of 20th century Brazilian music. Although, the book has the feel of a junior college textbook, it's written in plain language. It would be a relatively easy read if it were not that a parenthetical list of Brazilian names breaks up every third or fourth paragraph. There are some very informative passages - notably the chapter on Bossa Nova and the "Escolas de Samba" section of Chapter 2. At their best, the authors provide clear and comphrensive explanations of the geneology and sociological context of the music.

Unfortunately, unless a person is willing to spend countless shopping hours and a couple of thousand dollars building up collection of Brazilian records, he or she will gain almost no insight from this book into what the music feels like. The authors describe individual works and artists in only vague terms - terms often identical to those previously used to describe others. They beat the term "syncopation" into irrelevance - it's clear only that all Brazilian music is syncopated. The authors habitually refer to folk music genres and song forms ala "Composer X's work is all based on the Y song form..." But they provide no practical examples or definitions of those genres or forms.

The authors stridently dumb-down their text, accepting as axiom that one has to "hear it to believe it" and that it is meaningless to describe Brazilian music in technical terms. They generally refrain from even using common musical terms - bar, measure, pulse, key, etc. - to give the reader a clearer understanding of Brazilian rhythmic and harmonic structures. They use few effective musical comparisons or verbal metaphors. It is understandably difficult to describe music in writing. But it is possible. Judicious use of metaphor, comparisions, and technical descriptions would have greatly fleshed out what in the end comes off as a skeletal text.

This 1998 edition serves as the update to the first, apparently published in 1990 or 1991. However, the amendments appear to have been quite minor - embodied by an isolated paragraph here and there, and four meager pages in the final "More Brazilian Sounds" chapter. It's as if nothing has really happened in the evolution of Brazilian music since 1990 - an impression that must be wrong.

The Brazilian Sound catalogs decent research, but is neither good writing nor effective music history.

The best book ever written about Brazilian music in English, "The Brazilian Sound" is a beautifully written, in-depth guide to samba, bossa and other Brazilian genres. Many of the reviews below are on the mark, but BGB from WA seems not to have read the book (or to have read a different book!). The 1998 edition substantially upgrades the original 1991 version. There is much added in terms of early history, capoeira, racial issues, choro, and the blocos and afoxes in Bahia. There is more on important artists from the 1990s, like Marisa Monte, Daniela Mercury, Carlinhos Brown, Chico Cesar, Chico Science and Karnak, though these additions are in various chapters, not just the final one ("More Brazilian Sounds"). One needs to have actually read the book to know that, of course...The music is nicely described, in both musical and cultural terms. One gets a strong sense of how it sounds, and a clear understanding of its rhythmic, harmonic and melodic ingredients. Some of the writing is rather encyclopedic, dispensing a rather staggering amount of information, while many sections vividly convey a sense of the music. I often felt I was at a bossa nova club in '59, at an escola de samba rehearsal, watching one of the 1960s song festivals, or attending a forro party. "The Brazilian Life" brings to life both the current and past greats of Brazilian music. As a result, I added quite a few CDs to my collection, especially of artists like Milton Nascimento, Pixinguinha, Jobim and Marisa Monte. I can't recommend this book highly enough.

You could fill a book with all the information I _don't_ know about Brazilian music... In fact, these guys already have! Concise, conversational, informative and very well laid out, this is an exceptionally readable book. Chapters on samba, bossa nova, tropicalia, forro and jazz include focused biographical sketches of dozens of key artists, as well as succinct historical information about the progress of Brazilian music from its European and African folk roots into its bewildering and often beautiful modern offshoots. The book's focus is nonpartisan: although there is plenty of room for aesthetic criticism within the various styles, the authors generally hold their preferences and dislikes to themselves. They do, however, give readers a good sense of which recordings might be best to check out -- an invaluable service considering how little of Brazil's vast musical output makes it to the United States. Highly recommended! Certainly the best English-language guide to Brazilian pop that you will find in print (online is a different matter), this is great for casual listeners and hardcore fans alike.