Living in the Crossfire Favela Residents, Drug Dealers, and Police Violence in Rio De Janeiro

"After years of waging war on the population of the favelas, the authorities in Rio de Janeiro are in the process of adopting a different model of engagement based on community policing. Based on interviews with community leaders and public security officials, the authors explore the extent to which such a transformation is possible. Living in the Crossfire is a must read for anyone interested in the issue of violence in Rio de Janeiro and beyond." Robert Gay, Chair of the Department of Sociology at Connecticut College "[A] timely look at Rio de Janeiro's favelas... Most of the book consists of interviews with favela residents, police and government officials. The community members' interviews are most compelling as they detail not only the violence and threat of violence they live with daily but also the strong sense of community and hope for better days... Verdict: An important book for sociology and human rights collections that will also appeal to readers interested in crime and politics." - Library Journal "As Alves and Evanson make clear midway through this excellent and informative book, Brazil's human rights record has not improved since 1985, when the country moved from a military dictatorship to a constitutional democracy. Quite the reverse, on the base of sheer numbers things have become worse... The calling to attention to this situation and the examination of it in all its multifaceted complexity are two of the many merits of Living in the Crossfire, a comprehensive, informative and at times harrowing study of institutional, political and human costs of uncontrolled state violence in territories of poverty." - Journal of Latin American Studies, November 2012