Legendary Australian journalist Wilfred Burchett was in Paris on 25 April 1974. The next day, Burchett took the first plane to Lisbon to witness first-hand the military coup that ended the authoritarian dictatorship and ushered in democracy in Portugal.

The Captains' Coup (Edições 70, 2025) is a poignant account of the events of the first year after the Carnation Revolution until the crisis of 25 November 1975, which the author followed very closely. Unlike other international journalists, Wilfred Burchett did not confine himself to the comfort of the Tivoli Hotel, choosing instead to travel the length and breadth of the country, listening to it where it pulsated most and gathering testimonies from both political and military leaders and ordinary people.

Burchett also heard the stories of the victims of PIDE repression. Intimate accounts of the torture, imprisonment, persecution, and constant espionage to which the majority of the population was subjected for almost 50 years are revealed here in all their rawness.

Contributions by Miguel Cardina (CES) and Daniela F. Melo and Timothy D. Walker (orgs.)