The genre of samba is considered to be the most typical of all Brazilian musical styles. In this book, Marc A. Hertzman takes a new look at its creation and development in the context of Brazilian history from the end of the 19th century to the rise of the military dictatorship in the 1960s. Special attention is given to the years between 1910 and 1940 (‘the missing middle’) that – according to the author – have been neglected by historians. This ‘neglect’ is one of the reasons why Hertzman speaks of ‘a new history’ in the subtitle of his book. Most of the research here was done in Brazilian archives and the results are also represented in various tables – especially in the context of authors' rights payments.

At the start of the book Hertzman comments on Brazilian Terminology, the three Currencies that were used during the covered period and Portuguese Orthography. Furthermore, he makes a statement about the relationship between music and race by quoting Karl Miller: ‘There is no a priori separation of musical expression according to racial or ethnic identity’ (p. ix) and Hertzman continues: ‘… racially defined musical genres are, like race itself, socially constructed and often misleading’ (p. x). Chapter 1 (‘Between fascination and fear – musicians’ worlds in nineteenth-century Rio de Janeiro') is staged around the abolition of slavery (1888), when neither samba nor written Portuguese were clearly defined forms of cultural expression in Brazil. Here, the importance of the genre of lundu, which can be considered the first Afro-Brazilian style with the potential to become national music, is highlighted. The author's descriptions of ‘Barber Musicians’ who, in addition to cutting hair and making music, even worked as dentists are equally fascinating. Yet these examples, and the biography of the famous priest José Maurício, show that career opportunities for Afro-Brazilian musicians were still overshadowed by racial prejudices. Central to the argument in Chapter 2 (‘Beyond the punishment paradigm – popular entertainment and social control after abolition’) is the idea that Brazilian authorities suppressed samba before it became a symbol of national identity. Hertzman questions this paradigm by taking a closer look at anti-vagrancy laws such as Article 399 and police records, which prove that the authorities were not interested in suppressing music. However, Afro-Brazilians suffered because of these laws and certain musical genres – including samba – were central to their cultural identity. Finally, Hertzman concludes that the punishment paradigm also contributed to the fact that female participations to the history of samba (e.g. Tia Ciata) were overlooked.

The rise of the European entrepreneur Fred Figner alongside the Brazilian recording industry, with pioneering musicians like Benjamin de Oliveira and Eduardo das Neves, are the subject matter for Chapter 3 (‘Musicians outside the circle – race, wealth, and property in Fred Figner's music market’), while Chapter 4 (‘Our music. “Pelo Telefone”, the Oito Batutas, and the rise of “Samba”’) focuses on the growing importance of intellectual property rights with the introduction of recorded music. Central to the history of samba is the song Pelo Telefone (On the Telephone), which was registered in 1916 by a musician named Donga and is considered to be the first recorded samba (1917). Although the first printed reference to the word samba dates back to 1838, Hertzman states that the term had no clear definition until nearly 100 years later. Moreover, he also points out that Fred Figner's label (Casa Edison) was selling sambas before 1917 and that Pelo Telefone differs musically from the songs that were later sold as sambas. Between 1917 and 1921 the term samba was used for almost any successful carnival music, and it took some more time for a typical rhythm scheme to show up. The chapter also focuses on the success of the Brazilian all-star band, the Oito Batutas. This racially mixed group – co-founded by Donga – became a symbol of Brazilian culture during the 1920s. A picture of the band can be seen on the cover of the book. Although Donga does not appear in it, another famous Afro-Brazilian musician, Pixinguinha, can be identified as a band member. Chapter 5 (‘Mediators and competitors – musicians, journalists, and the Roda do Samba’) concentrates on the struggle for property rights around the exemplary case of Pelo Telefone. The Afro-Brazilian journalist Vagalume, who accused Donga of intellectual theft, initiated this controversy.

A highlight in Chapter 6 (‘Bodies and minds: mapping Africa and Brazil during the golden age’) is a map – found at the Biblioteca Nacional – made by the classical composer Heitor Villa-Lobos from 1941 (p. 147), which displays the roots of Brazilian music. In Chapter 7 (‘Alliances and limits – the SBAT and the rise of the entertainment class’) and Chapter 8 (‘Everywhere and nowhere – the UBC and the consolidation of racial and gendered difference’) the focus is directed at the history of Brazilian authors' rights societies, their relations to the state and the artists they represented. Finally, the last chapter (‘After the golden age – reinvention and political change’) covers the careers of some famous ‘sambistas’ that – although they sometimes managed to reinvent themselves artistically – were not always lucky in the end. In the conclusion, Hertzman analyses a historic interview between the Afro-Brazilian musician Joao da Baiana and the white journalist Lourival Coutinho that sums up many aspects that were central to the development of samba and which have already been mentioned (e.g. the punishment paradigm).

The book is completed by a six-page photo gallery (p. 168 f.). Also included is an historic map of Rio de Janeiro. This is useful, but it could have been even more detailed, as it is fascinating to use it to follow the protagonists through the city. Finally, footnotes would have been more comfortable for the reader than endnotes as they would have made it easier to follow all the comments. Although parts of Chapters 3, 5 and 6 have already been published by Hertzman in other articles, this book is highly recommended for anyone interested in Brazilian culture with a focus on the following keywords: samba, race, gender, national identity, music industry, music journalism, authorship and royalty societies, as well as biographies of many outstanding musicians.