Pele: My Life and the Beautiful Game

‘There is a plethora of football books being published this summer, but the winner will surely be Pele: The Autobiography... Pelé has become an icon, he must be one of the most famous names of all time’
Jonathan Spencer-Payne, The Bookseller
'In the global economy of renown, Pelé ranks both as the great pioneer, and the great survivor. His autobiography – with its warm voice well caught by its writers, Orlando Duarte and Alex Bellos – will need no hyping to anyone, sports fan or not, who recalls the era when the sublimely skilled Brazilians had the festive spirit of the Sixties at their feet . . . Purely as a sporting life, his book scores smartly and often. Its first half abounds with scenes that light up the swift ascent of man and team to worldwide acclaim . . . The book [is] of huge interest even to readers indifferent to its story of prowess trouncing prejudice . . . This is not the life of a saint, even if its hero has had three Popes avid to bless him. It does, however, offer uniquely credible advice about the value of staying "polite and kind", "honest and responsible", in the glare of a million flashbulbs. Pelé notes, after the first of his three World Cup triumphs, that "no one had given us any lessons in how to be celebrities". This book handsomely fills that gap. Every dressing-room, let alone every changing-room, should have one.'
Boyd Tonkin, INDEPENDENT
‘Pele...has a mythical status in football, and he adds to it in Pele: The Autobiography, which, in typically respectful style mixed with a touch of magic realism, charts his rise from poverty...to the world’s greatest footballer’
SUNDAY TIMES
‘Brings the story of his life up to date in this his seventh decade’
TELEGRAPH
‘The lessons of Pelé: The Autobiography are deeply symbolic – nothing less in fact than an account of the making of the first proper sporting superstar . . . There is that infallible mark of the old-style footballer, the fiscal cack-handedness, the business ventures forever scuppered . . . There is that characteristic respect for authority and prestige, one class act appreciating the protocols of another’’
INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY
‘Pelé lives in a kind of super-celebrity world, but will never lose the affections of the world’s public for his charming manners and footballing genius (an evidently rare combination)’
Peter Aspden, FINANCIAL TIMES
'Pele's is an inspiring story and it is told well in this readable autobiography . . . Pele's innate dignity and modesty shine through this book . . . With refreshing candour, he admits to problems in his private life' Leo McKinstry, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
‘Born in extreme poverty, Pelé’s rise to football superstardom is described with grace and modesty and explains why he was beloved by the whole world. Wayne Rooney take note’
Daily Mail
‘A revealing account of the making of the world’s first sporting superstar and gentlemanly lament for a vanished era of honour and discipline’
Independent on Sunday
‘Pele's biggest regret is that he never scored an overhead kick at the World Cup Finals. Exactly’
Four Four Two magazine Aug issue
‘His modesty comes through on nearly every page...What we want to know, of course, is by what techniques he achieved the magic that made him famous. Extra good peripheral vision is one answer, he suggests – “And I was just quicker”’
Sunday Telegraph 29/4
‘Who was the greatest footballer ever to have played the game? Some say Maradona, others George Best, but for most fans there can only be one answer... When he came home after winning the World Cup for the first time he saw some kids playing barefoot in the street. His reaction was to kick off his shoes and ask to join in. Would that today’s pampered Premiership stars had an ounce of his humility’
Mail on Sunday 27/5