Explorations

1976 · rif. 0185 — London, Dialogue Publications Ltd, 1976. in English. Rare 70s publication about the Amazon rainforest, few copies printed. "This is the tenth of a series of papers prepared by the Brazilian Embassy" after a few on the Brazilian development model, inflation control and economic growth, foreign policy, etc. A tall in-4 softcover booklet of 297 x 212 mm. 35 pp. Twelve chapters, many black-and-white pictures, colored maps of Brazil and the Amazon region. List of chapters: The World of the Amazon, the People of the Amazon, the Traditional Economy of Amazonia, the First seven years of the SUDAM project, the New Development Strategy of Polamazonia, the Free Zone of Manaus, the Amazonian Bank of BASA, Agriculture in Amazonia, New Roads in Amazonia, Modern Man in Amazonia, The Traveller in Amazonia and Science and the Amazon. "When the Brazilian Government launched 'Operation Amazonia' in 1966, it rekindled the country's concern for this vast region of forest and river. For most Brazilians, interest in Amazonia had faded since th collapse of the rubber boom and extravagant life that went with it in the early years of this century. But in the past ten years there has been a radical and continuing change in Amazonia's fortunes, the impact of which is already being felt. Today it is not only Brazilians who are interested in Amazonia. The Brazilian Embassy in London receives more requests for information about the region than about any other in the country. The booklet contains as much basic and up to date information on Amazonia as possible: it is intended to serve as a guide for those who are already acquainted with the region's resources and potentialities." This booklet is now almost impossible to find aside from a few higher learning libraries. Issued by a sovereign, developing country, while the rainforest was garnering interest yet had no political stakes as it does today.