NIGHTS OF THE GREAT BONFIRES, THE

In THE NIGHTS OF THE GREAT BOILS, journalist Domingos Meirelles recounts the saga of the Prestes Column, a revolutionary march that became part of Brazilian history. For two and a half years, a group of young officers from the São Paulo Army and Public Forces wandered through the country's countryside, accompanied by a legion of civilians. After rigorous research and numerous interviews, Domingos Meirelles managed to gather testimonies, official reports, and extensive American documentation. With all this material, the journalist reconstructed the political, economic, and social landscape in which the lieutenants' revolt took place. The book recounts the origins of the July 5, 1924, rebellion, when a group of young Army lieutenants who had participated in the failed uprising at Copacabana Fort in 1922, stormed the São Paulo Public Forces barracks. More than a military rebellion, the Prestes Column was one of the most extraordinary revolutionary marches ever to take place in Brazil.