Just read Michael Palin, Brazil.
It is ok, with many very good photos in it, but does suffer from stereotyped media perspectives, eg carefree Brazilians, happy people everywhere, etc. The bits about Rio de Janeiro are really overdone, transvestite community is covered, as, half heartedly, is crime in the favelas.Every travel writer, when thinking of Rio, tends to put gay/transvestite issues at the top, as if that is all that is there about Rio deserving of coverage.
I feel that, when it comes to places like Salvador, Ouro Preto, etc, there is too much in the way of industrial history, with humdrum sojourns around factories having been arranged by the BBC in advance. Overall, an average book, Palin is a nice guy it seems, who understands social and cultural factors in Brazil, but the book is like evey tv visit to Brazil...narrow and inoffensively stereotyped.