This book is an interdisciplinary approach to Latin American literatures and ecology. The research spans Latin America, including Brazil, from its beginnings in 1492 up to the present time. Rivera-Barnes and Hoeg analyze the relationship between literature and the environment in both literary and testimonial texts, scrutinizing the ecological implications and the relationship between man and nature, or nature and culture. Some of the questions involved in this approach are: How does a text represent the physical world? What moral questions are raised relative to man's interaction with nature? How does a text bring the reader's awareness to a specific ecosystem? This approach will prove that environmental degradation is a tangible and measurable reality and this book will contribute to the on-going dialogue between the arts and the sciences.