Despite the problems it had meeting deadlines for the World Cup, Brazil is considered a rising colossus. Neill Lochery of the University College London traces the origins of Brazil’s ascent to World War II and the relations the country developed with the U.S. Brazil’s dictator Getulio Vargas drove hard bargains with the Roosevelt administration, first to insure his country’s neutrality and eventually his country’s entrance to the war on the Allied side. As American money poured into Brazil for industry and infrastructure, Vargas responded by sending troops to reinforce the Allies in Italy. Lochery writes with an eye for detail, putting readers in the Copacabana and on the beaches of Rio as well as the smoke-filled conferences were deals where made.
