Journey on the Estrada Real: Encounters In The Mountains Of Brazil

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Summary: Want to know and feel rural Brazil? Read this book!
Review: "Journey on the Estrada Real" is a beautiful, funny, honest and warm look at rural life in Brazil's interior state of Minas Gerais.

The author takes you along as he walks the historic Estrada Real. Three hundred years after this critical colonial artery was established, it is all but forgotten now except for the historic cities strung beautifully along it's route. Cheney opens an English window into that part of the world, which is mostly unknown outside (or even inside), Brazil.


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Summary: A Glimpse into Brazil's Past; Implications for Its Future
Review: In Journey on the Estrada Real, Glenn Cheney takes us with him as he travels one of the oldest roads in the Americas. Mr. Cheney introduces us to the many people he meets along the way, involving us in their lives, relating their numerous joys and commiserating with their sorrows with a palpable sense of humanity. His knowledge of the geography and culture of the Minas Gerais region of Brazil, through which the Estrada Real runs, informs his narrative, as does his familiarity with the history of the area. This historical perspective permeates the book; historical digressions are frequent, yet never seem to interrupt the narrative flow. The result of this approach is that the reader not only understands what present-day life is like in the towns and villages along the Estrada Real but also how it came to be that way. Furthermore, Cheney speculates about what the impact of growing globalization and reliance on technology may hold for the future of the region. While offering no definite prescriptions, he hypothesizes that the local cultures may be able to survive largely intact, but only with careful planning, some economic assistance and a realistic recognition that time can never be completely stopped. This refreshing perspective is a welcome view into a fascinating and little-known area of the world.

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Summary: See Brazil from the ground up
Review: This book is about the author's remarkable journey on foot through the back country of Brazil. Each Chapter provides a story of a day's trek. Very readable and provides easy-to-grasp knowledge of both historical and modern Brazil. This is an adventure book that both entertains and teaches.