Lula - by Fernando Morais (Hardcover)

About the Book

"First published as Lula: Biografia, Volume 1."

Book Synopsis

The first - and long-awaited - major biography of Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

Lula is among the greatest political figures in Brazilian history. The only president in the country with a working-class background, combined with a party that was profoundly original in its roots, he exercised charismatic power and influence in a more lasting way than any other public figure in the republican period.

Since 2011, Fernando Morais, one of Brazil's leading writers, has gained direct, frank and frequent access to Lula. To these dozens of hours of testimonies, he has added a reporter's flair and captivating prose to compose a biography that paints a picture in all its grandeur and complexity.

In a narrative that makes use of flashforwards and flashbacks to maintain an electrifying pace, Morais goes from Lula's childhood to the annulment of his convictions, in 2021, passing through the new unionism, the ABC strikes, the foundation of the PT and the first election campaign.

Review Quotes

"An affecting portrait which, while sympathetic - Morais repeatedly criticizes the elite distain, media bias and politically motivated lawfare Lula has suffered - feels emotionally true."
--Patrick Wilcken, Times Literary Supplement

"An unconventional but riveting account"
--Patrick Graney, Spectator

"Morais has written his biography of Lula in a tight, suspenseful manner, keeping the reader riveted to the story unfolding with each page."
--Ron Jacobs, Counterpunch

"For more than 40 years, journalist Fernando Morais and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva have been comrades. And this has given the author of the biography of the ex-president a large collection of stories experienced not only by the character, but also by both of them, side by side. They were together, for example, when Lula led the metalworkers' strikes in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and they were also shared the tension of the days surrounding the Petista's latest arrest, decreed by former judge Sergio Moro in April 2018."
--Carlos Redel, GZH Books

"Meticulously detailed...Lula's life story is crucial to understanding his rise--especially given its similarity to the experience of so many of Brazil's most downtrodden and vulnerable."
--Peter Taylor, Current Affairs

"Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Lula" is extraordinarily informative and unreservedly recommended."
--Midwest Book Review

"Gramsci used to say that it is impossible to write the history of a party without at the same time writing the history of the country. Paraphrasing him, we can say that to dwell on the character embodied by Lula is to rediscover the history of Brazil over the last five decades."
--Luiz Marques, Teoria e debate

"Lula: A Biography by Fernando Morais, fulfils its role by being one more voice to narrate and analyse historical facts and with this allows new understandings to emerge and through them, new ideas to be born that will be important for the transformations that the country needs. The work is relevant, also, for showing the magnetism that exists around Lula - be it for good or evil - which helps explain some of the idolatry that places him as one of the best (if not the best) President that Brazil has ever had and a strong candidate in the 2022 elections."
--Vanderson Silva, O Capacitor

"The fact that the biographer is close to the subject, in principle, does not disqualify a work. After all, it will live on the shelves alongside books written by more critical authors. The question is whether the advantages of access to the character outweighed the disadvantages of the bias. From the moment Morais starts telling the story from the beginning, the answer is clearly yes."
--Celso Rocha de Barros, Folha de São Paulo

"Fernando Morais was emphatic: in his biographies, he does not portray "bronze characters," only those of "flesh and blood." Launched in the second half of November, Lula is the 11th book by the journalist from Mariana (MG), who arrived breaking records in his nearly 50-year career as a writer: 60,000 copies sold in the first three weeks."
--Guilherme Cabral, A União

"In this sense, this book operates as a source for writing the history of the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. At the same time that it articulates with power, since it builds it as a "monument," perpetuating it voluntarily or involuntarily, Fernando Morais' work preserves a collective memory and stages the play between objectivity and subjectivity in which historical actors act simultaneously as subject and object of biographical discourse."
--Paulo Santos Silva, Mundos do Trabalho

"Morais's book stands out for its access to its subject and the intimacy of its prose. The extensive research--hours of interviews with Lula and many others and firsthand reporting from recent events--is a monumental achievement, making Lula an important historical document. That its meticulous detail also makes for a compelling read is a testament to Morais's craft and Brian Mier's lively translation."
--Gianpaolo Baiocchi, The Boston Review

"Morais's saga will rank among the most important examinations of one of the world's great democratic statesmen."
--Andre Pagliarini, Los Angeles Review of Books

"The writing is accessible and often captivating, a style Morais has skillfully developed in his nearly five-decade journalism career."
--Alice Taylor, Spectre Journal

About the Author

Fernando Morais was born in Mariana, Minas Gerais, in 1946. Journalist, he worked for Jornal da Tarde, Veja, and several other Brazilian titles. He received the Esso Award three times and the Abril Journalism Award four times. He was a deputy (1979-1987) and Secretary of Culture (1988-1991) and Secretary of Education (1991-1993) of the State of São Paulo. He is the author of many books including The Last Soldiers of the Cold War: The Story of the Cuban Five from Verso and which was turned into a film for Netflix under the title Wasp Network - Who Were the Cuban Five?