MACMILLAN Brazil and the United States during World War II and Its Aftermath: Negotiating Alliance and Balancing Giants

The military alliance between the United States and Brazil played a critical role in the outcome of World War II, and yet it is largely overlooked in historiography of the war. In this definitive account, Frank McCann investigates Brazilian-American military relations from the 1930s through the years after the alliance ended in 1977. The two countries emerge as imbalanced giants with often divergent objectives and expectations. They nevertheless managed to form the Brazilian Expeditionary Force and a fighter squadron that fought in Italy under American command, making Brazil the only Latin American country to commit troops to the war. With the establishment of the US Air Force base in Natal, Northeast Brazil become a vital staging area for air traffic supplying Allied forces in the Middle East and Asian theaters. McCann deftly analyzes newly opened Brazilian archives and declassified American intelligence files to offer a more nuanced account of how this alliance changed the course of World War II, and how the relationship deteriorated in the aftermath of the war. Review “McCann’s book will find its place among the classics on traditional military history about two ‘unbalanced giants’ from the 1920s to the 1950s and their brotherhood in arms. It offers new insights for those historians who are not familiar with McCann’s oeuvre or the Brazilian history of the 20th century.” (Ursula Prutsch, Revista Iberoamericana, Vol. 20 (73), 2020) Review “ Nearly fifty years after the publication of the classic Brazilian-American Alliance, 1937–1945 , Frank D. McCann deepens our knowledge of the subject with new sources and abundant bibliography. This book reveals an alliance that was rife with distrust and yet ultimately victorious, whose importance in World War II is little known.” (Francisco C. A. Ferraz, Professor of History, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Paraná, Brazil) “A beautifully researched and engaging study, it offers a detailed account of diplomatic and military negotiations between the two nations and makes important corrections to the record. McCann is an exceptional storyteller and this is a story of wartime not to be missed.” (Darlene J. Sadlier, Professor Emerita, Indiana University-Bloomington, USA) “Frank D. McCann’s research and writing are first-rate. This work will be the authoritative text on the subject for the foreseeable future.” (W. Michael Weis, Professor of History, Illinois Wesleyan University, USA) From the Back Cover The military alliance between the United States and Brazil played a critical role in the outcome of World War II, and yet it is largely overlooked in historiography of the war. In this definitive account, Frank McCann investigates Brazilian-American military relations from the 1930s through the years after the alliance ended in 1977. The two countries emerge as imbalanced giants with often divergent objectives and expectations. They nevertheless managed to form the Brazilian Expeditionary Force and a fighter squadron that fought in Italy under American command, making Brazil the only Latin American country to commit troops to the war. With the establishment of the US Air Force base in Natal, Northeast Brazil become a vital staging area for air traffic supplying Allied forces in the Middle East and Asian theaters. McCann deftly analyzes newly opened Brazilian archives and declassified American intelligence files to offer a more nuanced account of how this alliance changed the course of World War II, and how the relationship deteriorated in the aftermath of the war. About the Author Frank D. McCann is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of New Hampshire, USA.