September 21, 2010

Brazil on the Rise:
The Story of a Country Transformed

Larry Rohter

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.

Mr. Rohter provides 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. 

Larry Rohter served as a Newsweek correspondent and later as the New York Times bureau chief in Rio de Janeiro for fourteen years. Previously, he was Caribbean and Latin American correspondent of the Times from 1994 to 1999.  Today, he is widely considered the top expert on Brazil. Currently he is the culture reporter for The New York Times. He lives in Hoboken, NJ.