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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.332092
EAN num: 9780393330472
ISBN number: 0393330478
Label: W. W. Norton
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 320
Printing Date: September 04, 2007
Publishing house: W. W. Norton
Sale Popularity Level: 2416
Studio: W. W. Norton
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'Lewis has such a gift for storytelling...he writes as lucidly for sports fans as for those who read him for other reasons.'—Janet Maslin, New York Times
One day Michael Oher will be among the most highly paid athletes in the National Football League. When we very first meet him, he is one of thirteen children by a mother addicted to crack; he does not know his real name, his father, his birthday, or how to read or write. He takes up football, and school, after a rich, white, evangelical family plucks him from the streets. Then two great forces alter Oher: the family's love and the evolution of professional football itself into a game in which the quarterback must be protected at any cost. Our protagonist becomes the priceless package of size, speed, and agility necessary to guard the quarterback's greatest vulnerability: his blind side. This paperback edition contains a brand-new 2007 afterword.
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Rated by buyers 
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Michael Lewis has done it again, presenting an overview of the evolution within a sport, while providing insightful social commentary within the context of a captivating story.
Like in Moneyball, Lewis tracks the evolution of a major sport within the course of a generation; and like Saturday Night Lights (by Buzz Bissinger), the social commentary about the role of sports, the values of our society, and the impact of race/wealth/privilege are presented through a heartful mosaic of incidents. I was especially impressed by the way this story highlights how unequal acess to "the system" can be for kids growing up in different backgrounds (not a huge surprise), but what a case study!
I couldn't put the book down and finished at 4 am. I will concur with a previous reviewer who felt a little bamboozled by the disclosure in the afterword about Lewis's relationship with the Tuohys. On the face of it, it seems like there should have been disclosure BEFORE reading the book - allowing the reader to make of it what he would.
Rated by buyers -
One of the best sports books I have ever read. I enjoyed MoneyBall but could not put down this book. Fascinating.
Rated by buyers -
Michael Lewis does it again: this time running two wonderful stories in parallel - that of a virtually-orphaned African-American child taken in by a wealthy white family that resoundingly points to nurture rather than nature as a determinant of success; and that of the revolutions in modern football that led to a reliance on the passing game. The reasoning and argumentation behind both of these stories is economic, and as always, Lewis writes with a flair and an ear for dramatization that makes what are sophisticated arguments into a compelling read - believe the story is actually being made into a movie. Terrific page turner.
Rated by buyers -
This is an outstanding book. Tells a story about a great young man and a great family that overcome a lot together. Fascinating as a sports story, a social commentary, inspirational to anyone who wonders if he can make a difference. And the best part is it's all true. A real page turner, more exciting than any novel.
Rated by buyers 
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This book is different from Lewis last few books in that sports takes a back seat to the human element.
Lewis's theme in this book is that when a person is given an honest shot to succeed, then more often than not, that person will succeed. Michael Oher is functionally illiterate and almost incapable of learning when he enters high school. Through the availability of resources provided by Sean and Leann Tuohy, Michael Oher is able to graduate in time and play football at Ole Miss. I felt that Lewis glossed over a lot of the difficulties that Michael must have faced while he was studying. Lewis instead gives us anecdotes that show how Michael Oher is a fish out of water. He does prove his hypothesis that an underprivileged kid can succeed simply by being given love and opportunity.
The book also shows the extreme divide between rich and poor in this country. While Oher was in the projects, no one cared whether he went to school. He spent his days playing basketball and hanging out. When Oher started attending high school in the rich part of Memphis, he was instantly thrust into an environment of privilege. Even when Oher is not living with the Tuohys, he is getting much more of an education than he would otherwise. The most stark example of this divide is that Oher's tutor is a teacher who used to teach in the Memphis Public Schools. Although it is never said, one can imagine she makes close to or more than what she made as a public school teacher tutoring Michael Oher. Lewis does a good job in showing the inequality that still exists between the resources of the rich and the poor.
Finally, the pageantry and politics in big time college football recruiting, Given the recent scandals involving Bobby Petrino and Nick Saban, the reader can see the slimy way these coaches lure young kids to play for their programs. Beginning in his junior year, Oher gets hundreds of letters a week. Coaches are at all of his practices. Oher's high school coach tries to get his by making an assistant coaching job for himself a de facto prerequisite for Oher attending the University of Tennessee. College recruiting comes off as dishonest and unethical.
As usual, Lewis has done a good job of mixing society and sport into an enjoyable narrative.
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