Description: This is the first complete economic and social history of Brazil in the modern period in any language. It provides a detailed analysis of the evolution of the Brazilian society and economy from the end of the empire in 1889 to the present day. The authors elucidate the basic trends that have defined modern Brazilian society and economy. In this period Brazil moved from being a mostly rural traditional agriculture society with only light industry and low levels of human capital to a modern literate and industrial nation. It has also transformed itself into one of the world's most important agricultural exporters. How and why this occurred is explained in this important survey.
Brief description: Herbert S. Klein received his PhD from the University of Chicago in 1963 and is Gouveneur Morris Professor Emeritus of History at Columbia University. Author of some 25 books and 165 articles in several languages on Latin America and on comparative themes in social and economic history, he is currently a Research Fellow and Latin American Curator at Stanford University's Hoover Institution.
Review Quotes: '[A] must-read text for specialized readers. Highly recommended.' M. L. Grover, CHOICE