Linger's book is a rare and exceptionally worthwhile treatment of the role played by violence in the lives of ordinary Brazilians. . . . Engagingly written, handsomely printed, with excellent photographs . . . and richly illustrated with several dozen interview statements that attain a life of their own, the book provides an indispensable analysis of the unwritten rules of Brazilian social intercourse. . . . A model study of use not only to specialists on Brazil."--Choice
"A fascinating and original study of violence in Brazilian popular culture. . . . It is difficult to do justice in a review of this length to the richness of Linger's book--the high quality of his writing, the way he illuminates Brazilian history and historiography, the 'thickness' of his ethnographic descriptions, and the intelligence of his theoretical discussions."--Bulletin of Latin American Research