Ruy Castro is a writer and journalist whose books include two classics about Bossa Nova, a biography of the immortal footballer Garrincha and an encyclopaedia of Ipanema. He has also edited a compendium of 1,600 poisonous bons mots called Bad Humour and two novels for children. His book Bossa Nova: The Story of Brazilian Music that Seduced the World was published in the US in 2001.