Brazil is a country that is changing quickly. Its economy is growing. It has modern industries like energy, electronics, cars, airplanes, and information technology, and lots of natural resources like iron, oil and rubber. To visit all of Brazil would be very difficult. At over 8.5 million square kilometers, it is the largest country in South America, and the fifth largest country in the world. This book will take you from the arrival of the first European colonists over 500 years ago to democratic, multi-ethnic, present-day Brazil. From the beautiful forests with their rich ecosystems to big, busy cities like Sao Paulo, and historic ones, like Recife and Salvador.