Join Pele, world champion soccer star, as he celebrates the kick and thrill of his favorite sport. Artist Frank Morrison sets up the play with two dynamic visual stories: Pele's inspiring rise to fame, and a young fan's efforts to follow in his hero'

What does the world's greatest soccer player love about the game? The same things that you and I do! Speed, teamwork, dribbling, passing, taking your best shot--and making a G-O-O-A-A-A-L! Join Pelé, world champion soccer star, as he celebrates the kick and thrill of his favorite sport. Artist Frank Morrison sets up the play with two dynamic visual stories: Pelé's inspiring rise to fame, and a young fan's efforts to follow in his hero's speedy footsteps. Together, words and pictures deliver all the fun and excitement of a closely matched game.

Describes the achievements and career statistics of soccer's greatest stars.

“An eccentric, fascinating exposé of a world most of us know nothing about. . . . Bristles with anecdotes that are almost impossible to believe.” —New York Times Book Review “Terrific. . . . A travelogue full of important insights into both cultural change and persistence. . . . Foer’s soccer odyssey lends weight to the argument that a humane world order is possible.” — Washington Post Book World A groundbreaking work—named one of the five most influential sports books of the decade by Sports Illustrated—How Soccer Explains the World is a unique and brilliantly illuminating look at soccer, the world’s most popular sport, as a lens through which to view the pressing issues of our age, from the clash of civilizations to the global economy. From Brazil to Bosnia, and Italy to Iran, this is an eye-opening chronicle of how a beautiful sport and its fanatical followers can highlight the fault lines of a society, whether it’s terrorism, poverty, anti-Semitism, or radical Islam—issues that now have an impact on all of us. Filled with blazing intelligence, colorful characters, wry humor, and an equal passion for soccer and humanity, How Soccer Explains the World is an utterly original book that makes sense of our troubled times.

This stunning and emotional photography book shows through hundreds of images how football unites people all over the world, how much fun the great game can be and how many emotions surround it. For this project, photographer Levon Biss travelled all ove

Middle school is full of new challenges for Jackson, Gig, Isaac, and Diego, four sports-loving friends who have always stuck together. Lockers that won't open, older (and bigger) kids, classes that are far apart, tons of homework—there's a lot to get used to. One thing the boys are looking forward to, however, is making the football team. Not every one will get what he wants, though, on the field and at home.

Argentina 1978 . . . A brutal military junta suspends civil liberties for anyone who opposes it. Distraught mothers of "The Disappeared" parade daily in front of the capital building. In retaliation, violent acts of terrorism shatter what is left of normal life. Only one thing can unite all the people. The World Cup of football. Two brothers, Renaldo and Lonfranco De Seta, chart a different course for their futures. While both brothers fall in love with powerful women, Renaldo, a young soccer prodigy, strives to make a place on Argentina's national team. Lonfranco, angry and disenchanted, is seduced into becoming a Montonero terrorist. From the plains of the Pampas to boardrooms, boudoirs, battlefields, locker rooms, and seething stadiums, Renaldo is a love story unlike any ever written and a novel shockingly relevant to times we live in.