Pele

Even people who don't know football know Pelé. The best of a generation of Brazilian players universally acknowledged as the most accomplished and attractive group of footballers ever to play the game, he won the World Cup three times and is Brazil's all-time record goalscorer. But how did this man -- a sportsman, a mere footballer, like many others -- become a global icon? Was it just by being the best at what he did, or do people respond to some other quality? The world's greatest footballer now gives us the full story of his incredible life and career. Told with his characteristic grace and modesty, but covering all aspects of his playing days and his subsequent careers as politician, international sporting ambassador and cultural icon, PELE: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY is an essential volume for all sports fans, and anyone who admires true rarity of spirit.

Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known to his schoolmates as Pelé, grew up in poverty in the Sao Paulo region of Brazil. He was too poor to afford a real soccer ball, so he played with a ball of newspaper tied together with string. Yet he dominated the youth leagues and signed his first professional soccer contract at the age of fifteen. Within two years he was celebrated internationally, when he led Brazil to victory at the world cup. Known by his fans as "O Rei" (The King), Pelé is widely regarded as the greatest soccer player of all time. But he's more than just an athlete: he also traveled the world as goodwill ambassador for UNICEF. Pelé is the living symbol of a sport he dubbed "the beautiful game"—a game that brings people together regardless of race or nationality. In the graphic novel Pele: The King of Soccer, Eddy Simon and Vincent Brascaglia beautifully depict Pele's rise from the slums of Brazil to the national stage.

The story of a poor boy from Brazil who became the greatest soccer player of all time and one of the most important athletes of the twentieth century! His parents may have named him Edson Arantes do Nascimento, but to the rest of the world, he is known as Pelé. The now-retired professional soccer forward stunned Brazil when he began playing for the Santos soccer club at age fifteen. He then went on to captivate the world when he joined his country's national soccer team and helped them win three World Cup championships. Although he's hailed as a national hero for his accomplishments in soccer, Pelé has been an influential person both on and off the pitch. His work with organizations like UNICEF has helped improve conditions for children around the world. Young readers can learn more about the man who connected soccer with the phrase "The Beautiful Game."

Pelé—legendary footballer, humanitarian, and subject of the Netflix documentary—explores the sport’s recent history and provides new insights into the game. “I know in my heart that soccer was good to me, and great to the world....I saw, time and again, how the sport improved countless millions of lives, both on and off the field. For me, at least, that’s why soccer matters.” The world’s most popular sport goes by many names—soccer, football, the beautiful game—but fans have always agreed on one thing: The greatest player of all time was Pelé. Before Messi, before Ronaldo, before Beckham, Pelé had a stunning twenty-year career, where he was heralded as an international treasure. His accomplishments on the field proved to be pure magic: an unprecedented three World Cup championships and the all-time scoring record, with 1,283 goals. Since retiring, he has traveled the world as soccer’s global ambassador, relentlessly promoting the positive ways soccer can transform young men and women, struggling communities, even entire nations. Now, for the first time and with unparalleled openness, Pelé shares his most inspiring experiences, heartwarming stories, and hard-won wisdom. This is Pelé’s legacy, his way of passing on everything he’s learned and inspiring a new generation. In Why Soccer Matters, Pelé details his ambitious goals for the future of the sport and, by extension, the world.

In this book from the critically acclaimed Little People, BIG DREAMS series, discover the life of Pele, Brazil's all-time King of Football. With a sock full of rags for a ball, Pele honed his skills in a poor neighbourhood in Brazil. He believed that, one day, he would lead his country to World Cup victory - and he was right! With Pele and his super skills on the team, Brazil lifted the trophy three times. Today, he is widely regarded as the greatest footballer who ever lived - and a hero off the pitch, too, using his voice to help the people who need it most. This inspiring book features stylish and quirky illustrations and extra facts at the back, including a biographical timeline with historical photos and a detailed profile of The King's life.

Think you know all there is to know about Pelé? Well, did you know that Pelé played in his first World Cup tournament at the age of seventeen? Did you know that in 1967, both sides in Nigeria's civil war called a 48-hour cease-fire so Pelé could play an exhibition match in the capital of Lagos? Did you know that Pelé has scored more than 1,200 goals in his professional career? Born into poverty in Três Corações, Brazil, Edson Arantes do Nascimento (aka Pelé) fell in love with soccer at a young age. When he was ten, Pelé and some friends started a soccer team. A year later, a coach took notice of his talent and began to train him. By the time he was just fifteen, Pelé had joined a professional team. This was the beginning of a long career in which Pelé led Brazil to victory in three World Cup tournaments. Pelé became an international celebrity whose name was synonymous with soccer. His fame allowed him to raise awareness of his beloved game around the world.

The wisdom and spirituality of Hawaiian elders is a facet of Hawaiian culture that outsiders rarely see or truly understand. New Age veteran Sondra Ray and her personal guide, Auntie Pua, act as messengers of the Aloha spirit, sharing the sacred teachings of the Kahunas — the “transmitters of secrets” — through kitchen-table style storytelling and first-hand adventures. The ancient rituals and basic tenets of the Huna way — loving oneself, nurturing other beings and the land, and living in harmony with all of life — provide a powerful code of transformation, leading to a deeper spiritual life more in tune with the rhythms of the natural world. By identifying the three core selves present in everyone, and in coordinating the way the three selves interact, readers learn to control their own reality — this is the Huna Way.

While kicking a ball through the dusty streets of his Brazilian hometown, young Edson Arantes do Nascimento was given the nickname Pelé so casually that no one remembers its meaning. Today, the name is famous worldwide as belonging to history's greatest soccer player. Here, in Pelé's own words, is his incredible life story: his five goals in the last two games of the 1958 World Cup at the tender age of 17, his glory years with his Brazilian club FC Santos, his role in four World Cup tournaments, his comeback as a member of the storied New York Cosmos, and his lifelong role as goodwill ambassador for the world's favorite sport. Skyhorse Publishing, along with our Arcade, Good Books, Sports Publishing, and Yucca imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs. Our list includes biographies on well-known historical figures like Benjamin Franklin, Nelson Mandela, and Alexander Graham Bell, as well as villains from history, such as Heinrich Himmler, John Wayne Gacy, and O. J. Simpson. We have also published survivor stories of World War II, memoirs about overcoming adversity, first-hand tales of adventure, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.