The first social history examining all aspects of Brazil's radical transition from a predominantly rural society to an urban one.

Herbert S. Klein is Gouverneur Morris Professor Emeritus of History at Columbia University and Research Fellow and Latin American Curator at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, California.

List of maps; List of graphs; List of tables; Introduction; 1. Brazil at mid-century; 2. Political and economic evolution of Brazil; 3. Demographic change; 4. Women, family and work; 5. The Welfare State and income transfers; 6. Urban life in the twentieth and twenty-first century; 7. Stratification and mobility; 8. Race and stratification; 9. Organization of civil society; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.