ブラジルは、世界で最も重要な国の一つですが、不可解な国でもあります。人口2億人のこの国は、膨大な天然資源、豊かな伝統と文化、爆発的に成長しつつある中産階級、そして世界の多くで手本となっている社会福祉政策（貧困家庭に所得を保証する「la bolsa familia」）を有しています。さらに、数十年にわたる権威主義的支配を経て、現在は安定した民主主義国家となっています。しかし、犯罪率の高さや格差の大きさ、政治腐敗といった問題を抱えています。
本書は魅力的な大国、ブラジルについて、その社会、政治、文化、経済などの概要を、わかりやすく解説しています。執筆はラテン・アメリカ政治が専門の著名な研究者、リオーダン・ロエットが担当し、植民地時代以前から、長いポルトガル統治時代、独立ブラジルの誕生、1930年代の近代ブラジルの出現、独裁者の時代、そして1980年代に誕生した民主主義体制、というように時代ごとに章で区切っています。ブラジルの始まりから今日に至るまで、人種、経済、政治、文化といった断層に焦点を当て、鋭く分析しています。
   

• Provides a rich, authoritative overview of Brazil, covering Brazilian society, politics, culture, and the economy
• Synthesizes the existing literature on Brazilian growth and development
• Deals with the political evolution as well as the economic development trends of Brazil, from colony to the 21st century
• Evaluates the progress made to date in consolidating democracy

 
Brazil is one of the most important but puzzling countries in the world. A nation of 200 million people, it has vast natural resource reserves, rich cultural traditions, a middle class undergoing explosive growth, and social welfare policies that are models for much of the world ('la bolsa familia,' which provides a guaranteed income to poor families). And, after decades of authoritarian rule, it is a stable democracy. Yet it is beset by problems that no other advanced economy suffers from: staggeringly high crime rates, sky-high inequality levels, and endemic political corruption. Emblematic of these two sides of Brazil is the selection of Rio as site of both the next Summer Olympics and the next World Cup. While the choice of Rio for these events points to Brazil's expanding presence on the world stage, so far the construction and planning for the events have been disastrous, threatening to deeply embarrass the nation. 

In Brazil: What Everyone Needs to Know, Riordan Roett, an eminent scholar of Brazil and Latin America, will provide a rich overview of Brazil, covering Brazilian society, politics, culture, and the economy. The book begins with a series of chapters on Brazilian history, beginning with the pre-colonial period and moving on, in succession, to the long era of Portuguese rule, the birth of independent Brazil, the emergence of modern Brazil in the 1930s, the era of the dictators, and - finally - to the democratic regime that came into being in the 1980s. Throughout the book, Roett will focus sharply on the fault lines — racial, economic, political, and cultural - that have plagued Brazil from its beginnings to this day. As the 2016 World Cup and Summer Olympics approach, interest in Brazil is sure to rise. Roett's synthesis will provide interested readers with an accessible, authoritative overview of this troubled yet fascinating giant.