Masters of the Lost Land

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In the tradition of Killers of the Flower Moon, a haunting murder-mystery revealing the human story behind one of the most devastating crimes of our time: the ruthless destruction of the Amazon rainforest?and anyone who stands in the way.Deep in the heart of the Amazon, the city of Rondon do Pará, Brazil lived for decades in the shadow of land barons, or fazendeiros, who maintained control of the region through unscrupulous land grabs and egregious human rights violations. They razed and burned the jungle, expelled small-scale farmers and Indigenous tribes from their lands, and treated their farmhands as slaves?all with impunity. The only true opposition came from Rondon's small but robust farmworkers' union, led by the charismatic Dezinho, who fought to bring put power back into the hands of the people who called the Amazon home. But when Dezinho was assassinated in cold blood, it seemed the farmworkers' struggle had come to a violent and fruitless end.What no one anticipated was that this event would bring forth an unlikely hero: Dezinho's widow. Against great odds, and at extreme personal risk, Maria Joel, now a single mother of four young children, used her ingenuity and unwavering support from union members to bring her husband's killer to account in court. The case gained unexpected momentum, bringing massive international attention to the dire situation in Rondon, from Brazil's president Lula to international celebrities and civil rights groups.Maria Joel's fight for justice had far-reaching implications: it unearthed a chilling world of corruption and lawlessness rooted in Brazil's quest to turn the largest rainforest on earth into an economic frontier. As all the facts were finally exposed, it became clear that the killer, a reluctant and unexperienced gunman, was just one piece of a vast criminal consortium, with ties leading all the way up to one of the region's most powerful and notorious fazendeiros of all ? and even to members of the Brazilian government.Featuring groundbreaking revelations and exclusive interviews, this gripping work of narrative nonfiction is the culmination of journalist Heriberto Araujo's years-long investigation in the heart of the Amazon. Set against the backdrop of appalling deforestation rates and resultant superfires, Masters of the Lost Land vividly reveals the human story behind the loss of ? and fierce crusade to protect ? one of our greatest resources in the fight against climate change and one of the last wild places on earth.