Rating: 
Summary: Great intro. though keep your Internet connexion on.
Review: This is a fantastic book. It's not useful as a "reference" because it's meant to be more story oriented. Written in a friendly style - as if you're having a chat w/ the author. There's a problem w/ this, however, as he expects you to know *everything*. I found myself confused at the beginning because there were so many names that I was simply not familiar w/. I may be the only person who doesn't hate footnotes, but this would've been a perfect book for them. These people become familiar through the course of the book, so it doesn't matter in the end. If you truly want the low-down on Bossa Nova (& who doesn't), this is one book to sit down w/.
Rating: 
Summary: sloppy translation
Review: This is a great book, but the translation is unfortunately sloppy. Just a few examples I've come across so far:p. viii of Acknowledgments: "... giving detailed descriptions of homes, bars and boats." The original word was "boate", which means nightclub, not boat! p. 52 "In his daily update on the Zona Sul nightlife (or that of Copacabana, given that Ipanema had been practically annexed by it, and the nightlife in Leblon was so dead that there were doubts of its existence), Maria described..." The original reads: "No seu registro cotidiano da vida noturna da Zona Sul (ou de Copacabana, já que Ipanema era considerado um apêndice e havia dúvidas sobre a existência do Leblon), Maria criava..." The translator missed the point. Ipanema was considered an extension of Copacabana, because it was less important at the time. And she missed the humor of the statement about Leblon. People doubted the existence of Leblon itself, not just Leblon's nightlife. Yes, I'm being picky, but the translator regularly gets little things wrong or misses the point. I read the translation and come to things that don't seem right. When I check the original, sure enough, they aren't. It's still a good read and the overall story still comes through. The new introduction by Julian Dibbell to the English version is very nice. The quality of the printing and the pictures aren't as nice in the English edition. The Brazilian edition, by Companhia Das Letras, has more and better pictures, and glossy full-color fold out maps.
Rating:
Summary: sloppy translation
Review: This is a great book, but the translation is unfortunately sloppy. Just a few examples I've come across so far: p. viii of Acknowledgments: "... giving detailed descriptions of homes, bars and boats." The original word was "boate", which means nightclub, not boat! p. 52 "In his daily update on the Zona Sul nightlife (or that of Copacabana, given that Ipanema had been practically annexed by it, and the nightlife in Leblon was so dead that there were doubts of its existence), Maria described..." The original reads: "No seu registro cotidiano da vida noturna da Zona Sul (ou de Copacabana, já que Ipanema era considerado um apêndice e havia dúvidas sobre a existência do Leblon), Maria criava..." The translator missed the point. Ipanema was considered an extension of Copacabana, because it was less important at the time. And she missed the humor of the statement about Leblon. People doubted the existence of Leblon itself, not just Leblon's nightlife. Yes, I'm being picky, but the translator regularly gets little things wrong or misses the point. I read the translation and come to things that don't seem right. When I check the original, sure enough, they aren't. It's still a good read and the overall story still comes through. The new introduction by Julian Dibbell to the English version is very nice. The quality of the printing and the pictures aren't as nice in the English edition. The Brazilian edition, by Companhia Das Letras, has more and better pictures, and glossy full-color fold out maps.
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