Boris Fausto's History of Brazil is a comprehensive yet accessible study about the past of South America’s largest country. The book covers the period between the settlement of the New World by the Portuguese in the 16th century until the early 21st century. History of Brazil spans almost half a millennium and tackles political, economic and cultural events and changes that marked the past of a country on a journey from an authoritarian regime to a modern democracy. This long process intensified since the 19th century and was profoundly marked by Brazilian independence in 1822 when an ethnically incredibly diverse society sharing a common language started to develop on the legacies of the destruction of native cultures, slavery and mass immigration. The chapter on the recent history of Brazil by Fausto’s son, Sergio, focuses on Brazilian global economic role, democratic development and the challenges of the present time.