"This is an important translation of DaMatta’s classic work on Brazilian culture ... weaving ritual life, politics, social hierarchy, folklore, and literature into a complex tapestry which amounts to an ethnography of Brazil. This is accomplished masterfully against a background of comparative sociology which includes extended examples from the United States and India" —Journal of Ritual Studies "Using the theoretical tools of structural anthropology, DaMatta reaches beyond conventional academic anthropology to create an original blend of folklore and a kind of higher cultural journalism. The result is like a traveler's account of the metaphorical landscape of the world of his own culture." -Terrence Turner, University of Chicago In the past [four] decades Roberto DaMatta has established himself as one of Brazil’s foremost social scientists. [His book] is an intellectual tour de force which provides a much deeper understanding of the country. The book is essential reading for anyone truly interested in understanding Brazil and the Brazilians.” —Luso-Brazilian Review “Anthropologists who work in Brazil have long recognized DaMatta’s provocative Carnavais, malandros e herois as a classic ethnography of Brazilian national culture. Its publication in English is a boon to those who study ritual and myth in urbanized, industrial societies and those who, against the postmodern grain, seek to describe national cultures.” —American Anthropologist