THE TOTALLY AWESOME WORLD OF CRISTIANO RONALDO

A celebration of soccer’s greatest, or maybe second greatest, player of all time.

Playing up the rivalry between his subject—Cristiano Ronaldo—and Lionel Messi for GOAT and fueling fan arguments, Fischer lines up many of the pair’s career achievements and statistics for easy comparison. More extras, including background overviews of the sport’s history and modern leagues, player responsibilities on the pitch, great rivalries in other sports, and plenty of large photos, also fill in this highlight-reel account of Ronaldo’s meteoric rise. Fischer takes readers from the first signs of talent at age 2 to Ronaldo’s current status as both the highest-paid and, with hundreds of goals with his feet and 152 headers, the highest-scoring pro player in the world. The author devotes more than perfunctory nods to the star’s family as well as his charitable and business ventures to go with the typical messages about the values of teamwork, a competitive spirit, and a strong work ethic; readers will even come away with such personal details as Ronaldo’s astrological sign, favorite food, and childhood idols, as well as an explanation of why he has no tattoos.

A stirring mix of worthy values and (literally) heady achievement.