Intellectuals and the Search for National Identity in Twentieth-Century Brazil

Rezensionen / Stimmen

'The history of Brazil in the twentieth century is also the history of its public intellectuals. Ronald H. Chilcote fully understands how culture and politics were intertwined in Brazil, and he has written an extraordinary book on these Brazilian intellectuals, which is also a critical interpretation of how Brazil changed from an oligarchical society to a vibrant although unequal democracy.' Luiz Carlos Bresser-Pereira, Emeritus Professor, Getulio Vargas Foundation 'Chilcote offers a wide-ranging study of intellectual currents in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, Brazil, in the second half of the twentieth century that shaped debates about economic development, industrialization, and Brazilian nationalism. Based on three decades of research and almost a hundred interviews and oral histories with leading intellectuals in the social sciences and humanities, this volume is an invaluable resource for scholars interested in understanding the intersection between academics and politics in late twentieth-century Brazil, as well as for specialists seeking a comprehensive compendium that synthesizes different debates and controversies that took place during the political upheavals of the last seventy years of Brazilian history.' James N. Green, Carlos Manuel de Cespedes Chair of Latin American History, Brown University, Rhode Island 'This book's extensive research and documentation, the fruit of four decades of teaching and research, will not only serve as a reference to experts in area studies but can also easily be adopted in undergraduate classes on Latin America, political economy, and history of ideas.' Jawdat Abu-el-Haj, Federal University of Ceara 'This book reflects the breadth of engagement with the progressive intelligentsia of Rio and Sao Paulo by a passionate US observer committed to national and social liberation. Drawing on a half-century of interviews and dialogue, Ronald H. Chilcote's survey nicely complements and extends earlier works by Carlos Guilherme Mota and Daniel Pecaut. Spanning seventy-five years in coverage, the book underlines a point made by Portuguese Nobel Prize recipient Jose Sarmago: for far too long 'the error of the Marxist left has been to think that the weapons of the past will always serve to win the battles of the present'.' John D. French, Duke University, North Carolina