Carlos Brando and Marcos Tapajós authored a book on Rails 2.1 in Portuguese, which is currently being translated into English on GitHub, making it accessible for a broader audience interested in Rails development. The translation project is open to contributions from the community, and those interested can follow its progress or participate by visiting the GitHub repository at http://github.com/carlosbrando/rails21-book. The initiative has garnered anticipation from the community, eager to see the completed English version, and a correction to the authorship has been made by Chris Wanstrath, also known by the username @defunkt.