In the period since the end of world War II numerous develop ing countries have employed colonization, or planned pioneer settlement, as one method of building a more reliable and bal anced economy. It is felt that the traditional, single-sided sys tems of farm ownership and production with their latifundium and minifundium holdings will gradually and peacefully become less prominent as better settlement systems are introduced and extended. Marked increases in population pressure, large tracts of unused or underused land, and modern improvements in set tlement planning are among other compelling reasons for star ting colonization programs. Of all the areas in the world, the continent of South America probably has the widest variety of planned pioneer settlements as well as the most sizeable programs. Brazil, the largest country on the continent, is actively engaged in populating the vast, emp ty spaces of its interior, and provides excellent opportunities for the scholarly investigation of new frontier settlement types. In addition to the academic discussion of the origin and develop ment of these expressions of man's expansion into marginal ar eas, the critical examination of relatively new attempts at land settlement is a useful thing because what is to be learned from such studies may be directly applicable to other pioneer zones and, moreover, may be of vital significance to overall economic improvement on the continent. In this monograph, my student, K. Muller, analyzes the South Brazilian frontier colony of Toledo, Parana, founded in 1946.

Envisioning Brazil is a comprehensive and sweeping assessment of Brazilian studies in the United States. Focusing on synthesis and interpretation and assessing trends and perspectives, this reference work provides an overview of the writings on Brazil by United States scholars since 1945. "The Development of Brazilian Studies in the United States," provides an overview of Brazilian Studies in North American universities. "Perspectives from the Disciplines" surveys the various academic disciplines that cultivate Brazilian studies: Portuguese language studies, Brazilian literature, art, music, history, anthropology, Amazonian ethnology, economics, politics, and sociology. "Counterpoints: Brazilian Studies in Britain and France" places the contributions of U.S. scholars in an international perspective. "Bibliographic and Reference Sources" offers a chronology of key publications, an essay on the impact of the digital age on Brazilian sources, and a selective bibliography.

An insightful look at how Brazil and Argentina employed national parks to develop and settle frontier areas.

Addressing decades of rain forest destruction, concerned scientists, often in concert with various environmental movements, have amassed an impressive amount of information on deforestation in areas throughout the world. In Tropical Forests, Rudel draws upon hundreds of these studies to develop a broader perspective on the problem of deforestation. Through a meta-analysis, Rudel identifies the forces that have driven forest cover change since 1980 and spells out their implications for efforts to conserve biodiversity and expedite sustainable development in the tropics. Rudel builds on local studies to offer clear explanations of what has happened in each of the world's tropical forest regions. He assesses global trends while also offering vivid descriptions of the effects of deforestation in specific areas. His work concludes with a chapter that describes policy directions for conserving biodiversity and promoting sustainable development in each region.