A quarter of the size of the Amazon forest, this tropical forest is found in the most densely populated part of Brazil, but also contains a great diversity of flora and fauna, much of it unique to the forest. Dean's history traces the destruction of this, the most endangered forest in the world, from the hunter-gatherers of twelve thousand years ago to the very different, but more tragic, story of the twentieth century.
`After reading this volume, no one could fail to realize the importance of these coastal forests, which have played such a fascinating role in the history of Brazil'.
Ghilean Prance, Director, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Warren Dean (1932-1994) was Professor of History at New York University. His books includeThe Industrialization of Sao Paulo (1969), Rio Claro: A Brazilian Plantation System (1976), and The Struggle for Rubber in Brazil (1987). Stuart B. Schwartz is Professor of History at the University of Minnesota.