“São Paulo… when it’s finished, it’ll be pretty.”
Brian Winter
São Paulo
São Paulo is the ugliest city you’ll ever fall in love with. How in the world did this humble Jesuit trading post manage to overtake its glamorous sibling, Rio de Janeiro, and become the engine of modern-day Brazil—and indeed the premier city of the Southern Hemisphere?
Brian Winter, who lived in São Paulo with his family for half a decade and still returns multiple times a year, leads us through this vast metropolis marked by endless traffic, vertical neighborhoods, and overlapping spheres of wealth and precarity. We discover the city’s deep lineage of immigration and the crucial place of foreignness in its collective identity; the resilience of its historically marginalized communities and the absurd excesses of its upper classes; and the remarkably enduring way families of modest origins can work their way up to fortune, fame, and influence.
Expansive and intimate, São Paulo is the story of a city fueled by ambition and improvisation, by a legendary work ethic and an equally impressive respect for pleasure, and by the abiding faith that anyone, everyone, is welcome.
Brian Winter is editor-in-chief of Americas Quarterly and the author of, among others, books co-written with soccer legend Pelé and with former Brazilian president Fernando Henrique Cardoso. He has been described by Foreign Affairs as “one of the best chroniclers and analysts of Latin America.”
"
There is a city in Brazil so blessed by nature, so sublimely beautiful, that even poets and artists struggle to describe its charms. Frank Sinatra, Barry Manilow, and Amy Winehouse have all sung homages to its world-famous beaches. Tourists flood in year-round for Carnival, New Year's Eve, and other fabulous festivals. What locals proudly call "the marvelous city" has, over the past two centuries, bewitched kings, TikTokers, and billionaires alike.
Sorry, but this book is not about that city.
Travel with a Writer
The Walking Tree’s global literary travel series presents places with a combination of dynamic storytelling, insightful observation, cultural references, and curated itineraries.
Written by acclaimed authors who know their subject intimately, these books give even armchair tourists a local’s understanding of the place: its rhythms, its customs, its contradictions, and the thousands of everyday details that make it tick.
Place by place, a global literary atlas takes shape.
- PUB DATE October 27, 2026
- Original paperback with flaps
- Page count: 128
- Print: $18.95 – 9782919841011
- Ebook: $9.95 – 9782919841196
