Oliver Marshall first went to Brazil in 1981, arriving by train from Bolivia. After nine months in the Andes of being so clearly identifiable as a foreigner, it was a huge relief to be able to walk along a Brazilian street and not to be noticed as a gringo. Since then, Oliver has returned, whenever possible, to Brazil for study, work and, above all, pleasure. He is one of the authors of the Rough Guide to Brazil and has particular responsibility for the sections on Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais & Espírito Santo, São Paulo and the South.

In addition, Oliver is author of travel articles that have appeared in The Independent and The Geographical Magazine as well as academic articles and books. Oliver is a Research Associate at the University of Oxford’s Centre for Brazilian Studies that published his most recent book, English, Irish and Irish-American Pioneer Settlers in Nineteenth-Century Brazil (Oxford, 2005). He is now working on a history of the international trade in sea turtles, which promises to have a snappier title.