What are the roots of the worsening crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border? Why did soccer-obsessed Brazilians protest hosting the 2014 World Cup? What was Brazil's worst nightmare at the World Cup before drowning in their own tears from the humiliating 7-1 drubbing by Germany in the semi-finals? The World Cup and border crisis serve as springboards for an unprecedented, in-depth examination of Latin America. This illuminating book describes everyday life in overcrowded, chaotic cities as well as the pastoral countryside and storybook villages, showing alluring beauty along with haunting ugliness. This enlightening memoir uses more than 30 years of personal experiences in Latin America to reveal little-known facts, introduce fascinating people and unknown places. Award-winning journalist and author John Wright reported and traveled in nearly two dozen countries throughout the region. Meeting powerful and humble people, riding Amazon riverboats, climbing Andean glaciers, and getting stuck in remote places, he employs colorful vignettes to uncover delightful characteristics and quirks with a sometimes whimsical, always entertaining narrative. "Lost & Found In Latin America" bursts through preconceptions and misconceptions to show that so many things people believe about Latin America are painfully wrong: stereotypes, innuendo and half-truths. This book is a fresh look beyond the clich s to discover Latin America in new ways. After reading "Lost & Found in Latin America," readers will view and experience the region and its people in a whole new way. The book answers these questions: -What do Mexicans call people north of the border? (No, not gringo) -Which Latin American country boasts the happiest people in the world? -What event do Brazilians consider their great national tragedy? -What does the word "tuna" mean in Spanish? (Clue: it's not fish) -Which Central American nation is not part of Latin America? -Where did you get phone lines from brokers instead of the phone company? -Which Central American country has been at peace with its neighbors since abolishing the army more than 50 years ago? -What country colonized Suriname? -Which South American nation lies entirely outside the Tropic of Capricorn? -Where is Papiamento spoken? -What language do Brazilians speak? -Which two South American nations are landlocked? -Panama was part of which country before becoming independent? -Which major industrialized nation borders two developing countries in Latin America? -What's the difference between a physical person and a juridical person? -Where are Panama hats made? -How did Tierra del Fuego get its name? -From Panama's Caribbean coast, can you head eastward overland and reach the Pacific?

Author Biography

John Wright left for the adventure of a lifetime in Venezuela as a reporter and editor at the English-language Daily Journal in Caracas in early 1981. After two years, he embarked on a solo two-year journey throughout Latin America and met his wife, Maria, while vagabonding in Brazil. He returned to help the family fruit orchard in Oregon before being hired in 1985 by The Associated Press. He reported from Mexico, Central America and the United Nations, as well as working as an editor at the international desk in New York. He coordinated and translated a package of stories about Latin American street children which won the Inter American Press Association's prestigious Tom Wallace award in 1989. In 1993, he became bureau chief for Dow Jones newswires in Brazil, where he assembled a talented, award-winning staff in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia. John returned to Seattle in 1996 as Pacific Northwest correspondent for Knight-Ridder Financial News, which became Bridge News. It was a great place to work, but the parent company went bust in 2001, whereupon he moved to Energy News Today as editor for news coverage in Latin America. He is the author of The Obama Haters: Behind the Right-Wing Campaign of Lies, Innuendo & Racism (Potomac Books, 2011) and co-author of Life Without Oil: Why We Must Shift to a New Energy Future (Prometheus, 2011). He translated, from Portuguese into English, Agape (Editora Globo, 2011) by Marcello Rossi, the biggest-selling book in Brazilian history, as well as the same author's sequel, Agape for Children (Editora Globo, 2012)"