Naked Tropics

Reviews and Endorsements

[A] Latin primer ... this is lively history, made more readable by fascinating glimpses into the historian's own life and his passion for Brazil. [...] More importantly, Maxwell always keeps a firm eye on the bigger picture.

Richard Lapper, Financial Times

One of Maxwells achievements in this volume of essays is to make his own and others' work on Luso-Brazilian history and civilization both interesting and accessible to general readers. But he has done more than this. He has also shown why Luso-Brazilian history matters, and how it can and should be more effectively integrated into the broader picture of the history of Europe and the wider world.

Professor Sir John H. Elliot, New York Review of Books

An extraordinary collection of essays by a historian in love. Ken Maxwell explores the seductive mysteries of the tropics—and of Brazil, in particular—with marvelous knowledge and a contagious passion. From the origins of chocolate to the legacy of Empire to the tragic fate of a grass-roots environmentalist, nothing escapes Maxwell's omnivorous attention, and nowhere does his beautiful clear prose fail to delight.

Alma Guillermoprieto, author, Samba and The Heart that Bleeds

Original and distinguished and much more than the sum of its very considerable parts. A most impressive, enjoyable and instructive collection.

James Dunkerley, Director, Institute of Latin American Studies, University of London

Naked Tropics makes Brazil come alive without any dress or adornment save Ken Maxwell's wonderful writing, his extraordinary knowledge of the country and its history, and his contagious passion for its people and culture. Each of these sixteen essays is a gem that illuminates and entertains all at once. Must reading for anyone on the way to Brazil or just thinking about it.

John H. Coatsworth, Monroe Gutman Professor of Latin American Affairs and Director, David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, Harvard University.