Hotel Trópico Brazil and the Challenge of African Decolonization, 1950-1980

"This book is no standard diplomatic history. It falls within the genre of work-mostly related to the study of US foreign relations-that seeks to show how domestic race relations have left a profound mark on the conduct of foreign policy. . . . [A] well-written and insightful book. . . ." - Philip Chrimes, International Affairs "[T]his is a solidly researched and colourfully written study, and its broad geographical and thematic scope should appeal to a wide readership both within and beyond the confines of Afro- and Luso-Brazilian studies." - Ori Preuss, Journal of Latin American Studies "Jerry DÁvila's insightful and very well-written book has arrived at an opportune moment. . . . The considerable strengths of Hotel TrÓpico rest on DÁvila's solid prior scholarship on Brazil's race relations, unprecedented access to comparatively recent Brazilian diplomatic and Portuguese governmental archives, extended interviews with key players over five years, and broad institutional and collegial ties in several countries. The research is meticulous and copiously documented, the argumentation is skillful and clear, and the style is lively, detailed and almost novelistic in its narrative." - Wayne A. Selcher, The Americas "At a time when Brazil is garnering widespread attention as a global economic and geopolitical power, this book provides an indispensable historical framework to understand the conditions that have led to this status. Africa in fact served as a platform for Brazil to assert itself as an emerging world power in the 1960s. DÁvila offers one of the most sophisticated and in-depth analyses of Brazil-Africa relations to date. One of the highlights of his book are the interviews, which capture quite vividly the complicated nexus among affect, culture, race, myth, desire, memory, and foreign policy." - Fernando Arenas, American Historical Review "Jerry DÁvila has transformed the history of Brazil's diplomatic initiatives in Africa during the era of decolonization, not only adding depth and fascinating detail to this story but also showing how the pursuit of a special Brazil-Africa relationship both drew upon Brazil's claims to be a 'racially democratic' nation and laid bare the contradictions in those claims."- Barbara Weinstein, author of For Social Peace in Brazil: Industrialists and the Remaking of the Working Class in SÃo Paulo, 1920-1964 "Hotel TrÓpico is a superb book. It takes on broad themes such as race and imperialism, modifies much of the current knowledge about Brazil's dictatorship, and suggests a reevaluation of that form of government in Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay. Hotel TrÓpico will be read not only by scholars of Brazil and Latin America but also by those studying Africa, empire, and postcolonialism."- Jeffrey Lesser, author of A Discontented Diaspora: Japanese Brazilians and the Meanings of Ethnic Militancy, 1960-1980 "[T]his is a solidly researched and colourfully written study, and its broad geographical and thematic scope should appeal to a wide readership both within and beyond the confines of Afro- and Luso-Brazilian studies." - Ori Preuss (Journal of Latin American Studies) "At a time when Brazil is garnering widespread attention as a global economic and geopolitical power, this book provides an indispensable historical framework to understand the conditions that have led to this status. Africa in fact served as a platform for Brazil to assert itself as an emerging world power in the 1960s. DÁvila offers one of the most sophisticated and in-depth analyses of Brazil-Africa relations to date. One of the highlights of his book are the interviews, which capture quite vividly the complicated nexus among affect, culture, race, myth, desire, memory, and foreign policy." - Fernando Arenas (American Historical Review) "Jerry DÁvila's insightful and very well-written book has arrived at an opportune moment. . . . The considerable strengths of Hotel TrÓpico rest on DÁvila's solid prior scholarship on Brazil's race relations, unprecedented access to comparatively recent Brazilian diplomatic and Portuguese governmental archives, extended interviews with key players over five years, and broad institutional and collegial ties in several countries. The research is meticulous and copiously documented, the argumentation is skillful and clear, and the style is lively, detailed and almost novelistic in its narrative." - Wayne A. Selcher (The Americas) "This book is no standard diplomatic history. It falls within the genre of work-mostly related to the study of US foreign relations-that seeks to show how domestic race relations have left a profound mark on the conduct of foreign policy. . . . [A] well-written and insightful book. . . ." - Philip Chrimes (International Affairs)