Technocrats and the Politics of Drought and Development in Twentieth-Century Brazil

Book Review| August 01 2018 Technocrats and the Politics of Drought and Development in Twentieth-Century Brazil Technocrats and the Politics of Drought and Development in Twentieth-Century Brazil. By Buckley, Eve E.. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2017. Maps. Figures. Tables. Notes. Bibliography. Index. xii, 279 pp. Paper, $29.95. Andrew J. Kirkendall Andrew J. Kirkendall Texas A&M University Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Hispanic American Historical Review (2018) 98 (3): 545–547. https://doi.org/10.1215/00182168-6933864 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter Email Permissions Search Site Citation Andrew J. Kirkendall; Technocrats and the Politics of Drought and Development in Twentieth-Century Brazil. Hispanic American Historical Review 1 August 2018; 98 (3): 545–547. doi: https://doi.org/10.1215/00182168-6933864 Download citation file: Zotero Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search nav search search input Search input auto suggest search filter Books & JournalsAll JournalsHispanic American Historical Review Search Advanced Search Growing out of a doctoral dissertation in the history and sociology of science program at the University of Pennsylvania, Eve Buckley's new book provides important insights into the problems of the semiarid backlands, or sertão, in the Brazilian interior, which is prone to periodic but unpredictable and devastating droughts, and into the myriad failures to address these problems. Buckley organizes her book in a distinctive way. Most chapters focus on a particular profession and its members' approaches to the Northeast's concerns. After providing background on the definition of the region itself as a problem following the Great Drought of 1877–79, she primarily focuses on the period from 1909, with the creation of the Departamento Nacional de Obras Contra as Secas, to 1964. In each case, she demonstrates that many of those attempting to address the region's issues were well meaning and... Copyright © 2018 by Duke University Press2018 Issue Section: Twentieth–Twenty-First Centuries You do not currently have access to this content.