Brazil. The Sanitation of Brazil: Nation, State, and Public Health, 1889–1930. By Gilberto Hochman. Translated by Diane Grosklaus Whitty. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2016. Pp. xiv, 216. Appendixes. Notes. Bibliography. Index. $95.00 cloth; $25.00 paper.
In fact, the phrase “industrial forests” in the book’s title (explained in Chapter 3), illuminates the array of state projects aimed at fostering self-sufficiency. These drew on a longer history of scientific discovery in the Lusophone world and regarded Brazil’s abundant natural resources as the potential engines for economic activity. The famous engineering brothers, André and Antonio Rebouças (Afro-descendants), saw great potential in developing a Brazilian lumber industry, and made strong arguments that wood worked better for building railroad tracks than imported iron (96–99). Interestingly, the expansion of rail travel in the 1870s was another topic that sparked widespread discussion in the illustrated press.