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CHOICE Review

This exciting collection of essays reaches extraordinary conclusions about contemporary race relations in Brazil. Two contributions by Brazilians, in particular, must be singled out. C. Hasenbalg destroys the myth that social mobility will lead to racial equality (the fundamental premise of Brazil's so-called ``racial democracy''). N. do Valle Silva suggests that contrary to conventional wisdom, mulattoes tend to be more discriminated against than blacks in the Brazilian economic system, and that ``non-whites are subject to increasing disadvantage as they try to move up the educational ladder'' (p. 49). This perception of diminishing returns runs completely counter to generations of scholars (from Gilberto Freyre on) who believed in the existence of a ``mulatto escape-hatch.'' Although the remaining six essays (by both well-known and relatively new scholars) are not so dramatic in their findings, they do provide insights into the role of blacks in Brazilian society, with particular emphasis on the political sphere. This volume is a superb accomplishment. Its availability in paper will make it widely accessible and, indeed, everyone concerned with the question of race, not only in Brazil but elsewhere in the hemisphere, must consider their understanding incomplete if they have not read this unique collection. Bravo! Highly recommended.-R. Delson, Institute of Latin American and Iberian Studies, Columbia University