This study provides an authoritative history of the Brazilian army from the army's overthrow of the monarchy in 1889 to its support of the coup that established Brazil's first civilian dictatorship in 1937. McCann explores how the period between these events laid the foundations of modern Brazil. "This elegantly written book's most important contribution is its marriage of institutional history to an analysis of formal and informal political processes. It brings important new insights into the institutional and networking channels through which power flowed during a vital era in Brazilian history when the army became the vanguard of the state."