Celso Furtado is essential reading in all economics courses in Brazil. His analysis of poverty as the result of an export oriented model (as opposed to an economy focused on its own needs, such as that of the U.S., ever since its beginning) became a classic that effected all economic thought in Brazil. Furtado's focus goes from the early XVI century Brazil until the Vargas years of import substitution and industrialization. I strongly recommend this book to any American who wishes to go beyond the usual prejudices about South America and understand some of the issues that lead to under-development. A nice complementary reading is Maria da Conceição Tavares's writings about import-substitution.