I'd picked this up thinking that it would be mostly about how the game of (American) football has changed over the years (in other words, the evolution of a game), and that Michael Oher would be a side story to give it some human interest. It's actually the other way around; all of the football history and strategy takes up maybe 100 pages. That's unfortunate for me, but may be a positive for people who aren't that interested in rule changes, draft classes, and player contracts.

That's not to say that Michael's story is bad. It's a perfectly nice feel-good story about someone making a difference in someone else's life. It does just sort of drop off though. The book was published in 2007 while Mike was still in college, so we don't get to hear whether he made it to The League, whether the Tuohys are doing well, whether their experience did indeed inspire them to help other poor kids, and so forth. We're coming up on the tenth anniversary of publication, and I hope that future readers get an anniversary edition that wraps up some of those loose threads.

Hoop Dreams detailed the machine built around taking poor black athletes from the inner city and sticking them into primarily white school systems that only cared about those athletes to the extent that they would help their sports teams win. The Blind Side concerns itself with a similar story, except Michael Lewis tends to pause breathlessly and exclaim isn't this great? He admits that the father, Sean, "had been born with a talent for seeing the court, taking in every angle and every other player, and then attacking in the most efficient way possible. The talent translated beautifully from basketball into life." But Lewis never really weighs the possibility that maybe this chronic manipulater had some dubious intentions when, on essentially a whim, he ends up adopting a tremendous football talent, Michael, a year before Michael decides where he wants to play his college ball. When an NCAA investigator feels that this adoption (and the tens of thousands of dollars thrown towards Michael) might be some attempt to circumvent the rules and buy his favor, Lewis can't help but vilify her. "[The NCAA] didn't care how things were, only how they could be made to seem. A poor black football star inside the home of this rich white booster could be made to seem scandalous, and so here they were, bothering Michael. The lady said she was just trying to establish the facts of the case, but the facts didn't descibe the case... They had violated the letter of every NCAA rule ever written. They'd given Michael more than food, clothing, and shelter. They'd given him a life." And, desipte this ascribed nobility of Sean, his family, and the support system of tutors willing to get him passing grades by any means at hand, I never found myself buying into it fully. Yes, I find myself rooting for Michael Oher to make it in the NFL, but mainly because I feel that if he doesn't, the life that these people have given him will seep away, and he'll be back on the streets from which he was rescued.

I also was annoyed by which the degree Lewis writes from a perspective of "poor black" athletes and "rich white" heroes. He can't help himself from throwing these modifiers on any person where they might apply. But when talking of about a black investment banker, he isn't written as "a rich black banker", instead he is merely described as being from Washington, D.C. Michael is meant to stand in for so much of what is happening in this country in terms of race and economics, and, while large though he may be, he isn't big enough to tell this story unless Lewis cuts off these annoying details and nuances.

In the end, it rings with the empty ease of a cheer before a football game: "Whitey, go adopt a black kid that can run 4.3 40, on three!"

After seeing the movie The Blind Side, I decided that I wanted to read the book. I heard somewhere before that the book had different parts from the movie, as it usually does when movies are made about books. Many times in the past I read sports books similar to this one, so I figured that I would enjoy this book, which I did.

The Blind Side, by Michael Lewis revolves around a poor black teenager named Michael Oher. Throughout childhood, Michael and his 10 other siblings moved around the poor side of Memphis, TN. Their drug-addicted mother was in and out of prison, and eventually, Michael and his older brothers were forced to live on their own in to avoid being separated. Due to poor attendance, Michael barely made it past the 8th grade in school and was on track to join a gang, similar to many other boys of the city. On the north side of Memphis, the Tuohy family lives a completely different life. After discovering “Big Mike” while picking up their kids from school, the Tuohy’s invite him to stay the night. Eventually, after staying for days on end, they adopt Michael into their family. Despite his terrible grades, Michael improves them just enough where he can play sports. Upon stepping on a football field, this “freak of nature” named Michael Oher became a star. With the help of the Tuohy family, Michael is able to set his life on track for the first time ever.

However, there was one part I did not like about the story. Throughout it, other people who impacted Michael's life had quotes and spoke about their experiences; but there were no quotes from Michael himself. To me, he seems like the most important person from the story, so it would make sense for him to share how he felt about it. The author may have done this on purpose, but it would be better to hear from the main character.

Overall, I really enjoyed the story and was entertained throughout my time reading it. Because I am an avid sports fan, it is always interesting to see some of the stories that professional athletes have in their childhoods. The Blind Side is a perfect example of this, and shows how no matter how bad a situation may look for someone, with the help of others, they can always dream big. Also, it was interesting to read about how someone with so little growing up worked hard to achieve much more.

Enjoyed the story about Michael Ohr.

Michael Lewis is an extraordinary writer, so thorough, so compelling, humorous and authentic. He can cover so many different subjects in such depth and make it so readable, so enjoyable. Best known for his books on the financial world, his two books on sports are very readable and both have been made into very popular and successful films (including this book and “MoneyBall”). In this book, and in the film, the main subject is Michael Oher, the former left tackle for the Ole Miss football team, and later left tackle in the NFL..Much is made of his poor schooling experience growing up, and of learning disability. However, Oher worked very hard to overcome this and he graduated with a degree in criminal justice in the spring of 2009.
This book shows how despite having a miserable childhood, something finally went right for him, he was finally in the right place at the right time. In football, as offensive football strategy was evolving over the past three decades in large part due to linebacker Lawrence Taylor's arrival in the NFL in 1980s , the role of the offensive left tackle to stop such strong, domineering athletes from running havoc through the game plan of offensive coordinators, people with the rare body type , size, and physicality of Michael Oher came to be in very high demand. This poor boy from the hood was fixin to get paid, but that was not going to happen if someone didn’t save him from the mean streets of Memphis. In came Sean and Leigh Ann Tuohy (two interesting characters themselves). Michael Lewis captures it all. This is a good read whether you like sports or not.

The Blind Side is a surprisingly good book that I didn't expect to like very much. Like many storys, the books is usually better than the movie and in this case, it was. When I first started reading The Blind Side, I didn't understand what I was reading, because I didn't know anything about football. After watching the movie, I started to understand the story a little more. I still forced myself to read the book, because I knew that the story would have been told differently and it was. I really recommend this book because if you are like me, you usually read fiction and this is a great way to try a nonfiction book. The Blind Side thought me that working hard really does pay off. For example, Michael Oher (the protagonist) was really behind in everything school-related because he had a difficult childhood. When Michael went to a new school that's when everything changed. Michael pushed himself to become one of the greatest offensive tackles in the NFL.

Het boek "The Blind Side" gaat over het waargebeurde verhaal van Michael Oher, een jonge zwarte man die opgroeit in armoede en uiteindelijk een professionele American footballspeler wordt. Het verhaal draait om zijn reis naar succes, met de steun van een liefdevolle familie die hem een kans geeft.

Wat ik goed vond aan het boek is de inspirerende boodschap van doorzettingsvermogen en hoop. Het laat zien hoe iemands leven compleet kan veranderen met de juiste steun en kansen. Het verhaal is ontroerend en biedt inzicht in de ingewikkeldheid van ras, klasse en identiteit in de Verenigde Staten.

Een beeld uit het boek dat me is bijgebleven, is de scène waarin Michael voor het eerst bij de familie Tuohy thuis komt en verwonderd kijkt naar de grote, comfortabele omgeving waarin ze leven. De tegenstelling tussen zijn arme achtergrond en de luxe waarin de Tuohy's leven, zet de toon voor de kloof die Michael moet overbruggen en maakt het belang van hun band des te opmerkelijker.

Een mogelijk minpunt van het boek is dat het soms te gedetailleerd in de technische aspecten van American football kan gaan. Dit vond ik altijd lastig om te begrijpen want ik ken de sport niet. Daarnaast had de auteur naar mijn mening meer mogen ingaan in bepaalde personages, zoals Leigh Anne Tuohy.

Over het algemeen vond ik "The Blind Side" echter een boeiend en inspirerend boek dat de lezer meeneemt op een ontroerende reis van tegenslag naar de top.

The Novel, “The Blind Side” by Micheal Lewis follows the life of a young man named Micheal Oher while he tries to find his way as a struggling black teenager through a wealthy and primarily white society. Micheal is found by the Tuohy family who gives him more of a purpose than just going through life. They allow him to find a feeling of belonging in school, football, and friendships. The Tuohy family is headed by Sean Tuohy, the former all-star point guard for Ole Miss and business entrepreneur and Leigh-Anne, the supportive yet “her way or the highway” mom of the family. Through this crazy dynamic of completely different lifestyles and morals, we find ourselves lured into a story about how the impossible becomes possible with well-intentioned help. Conflicts of tension being a black man in a white society along with ties to his past, Micheal tries to maneuver his way through life doing what he does best, being a left tackle and protecting the quarterback. All in all, “The Blind Side” delivers a story filled with realities of being a minority along with tales of how football evolved with Micheal as the star.

Bottom of page 289 to mid 290

Micheal has just had a freshman linebacker named Antonio Turner insult Leah-Anne Tuohy and Collins Tuohy and Micheal are very upset about it. Micheal then decides things himself and we find out about the damage that he causes. This is important because it shows what could happen as soon as he loses control of his life. Micheal has been responsible and well trained, and he’s kept to a regiment. If he hadn’t and had gotten into drugs, sex, or crime, he could have had a life that was equally representative of this small incident. Micheal grew up with nothing, and if he acted stupidly he would continue to waste his talent and live with nothing for the rest of his life. To conclude, this event shows just a small bit about what could have happened to Micheal if he had lost control of his life.

The author gets a good idea about how influential the offensive line and specifically the left tackle are in football. As well, Micheal’s growth and his childhood are told to the reader in a way that encaptures the whole process of him growing up and having to become a better person. His story specifically really empowers the reader to be emotionally drawn to Micheal’s success and how he has made a life for himself while amid systematic racism, poverty, and awful standards and morals portrayed in front of him by important people in his life. The plot goes into depth about how Micheal slowly accepts certain people’s help, such as Leah-Anne. This drives home a point in the story that Micheal has truly grown up with no role model and little to no friends and he finally has a place that gives him a sense of belonging, trust, happiness, and joy. In conclusion, The Blind Side captures the life of Micheal Oher, especially his struggles in his upbringing and his football experience, and combines it with loving characters to give us a memorable plot that gives us a happy but open-ended conclusion.

FOO-BAH! FOO-BAH! 24-7, 365 Days a Year!

Seriously, doesn't it seem like football is happening year 'round these days? The NFL with the help of ESPN has done a hell of a job making themselves ubiquitous. Lucky for me, I love the game. Sucks for those who don't, though...

The Blind Side is a nice, concise slice of today's true American Pastime, and it's the sort of feel-good story that will appeal to a broad audience (and by broad I don't necessarily mean dames!) *twiddles cigar and jiggles eyebrows ala Groucho Marx*.

This is essentially the story of Michael Oher, current NFL offensive lineman, former skid row forgotten child of delinquent parents. This is also the story of privileged white Christians plucking a boy from the ghetto and raising him as their own, giving him an opportunity he would've otherwise never had.

Much of author Michael Lewis' book tells Oher's heart-warming tale. When not evoking tearjerking scenes, he occasionally questions the morality of the sport in question as well as the people that thrust this naturally athletic kid into it. Analysis of the game's (after all, Evolution of the Game is its subtitle) progression and how it's changed the very shape of the players who play it runs through out and provides a nice base from which to play off the Oher example.

Football enthusiasts, historians and strategists may glean some interesting insights from this well-written, flowing story with its palatably presented data tucked in as thought-nuggets through out. Very nice read. I can see why they made a movie out of it, which I ought to get around to watching someday.

Michael Lewis does it again, this time with football. This is the story of a black kid from the country's third poorest zip code in Memphis who was adopted by a wealthy white family (they own their own jet) and with lots of support from the father of a son and from coaches and teachers and tutors played football at Old Miss and made it to the NFL and multi-million dollar contracts.

Woven into the story of Michael Oher is the development of the importance of the left tackle in professional football. It's his job to block the guy whose job it is to approach the quarterback from his blind side and sack him.

Even for someone like me, a non-fan of football, Lewis makes the details of who played what position on what team when and against whom interesting and entertaining. And the story of Michael Oher, adopted by what would seem like the last family in the world to love and care for someone like him, is a delight. In fact, so delightful is it they made a movie, starring Sandra Bullock as the steel magnolia who is the mother of the Tuohy family of East Memphis.

Let me start off by saying that this is a great book. I love how Michael Lewis captured the emotional struggles that Michael Oher lived through in order to get to where he is now. Not only is the issue of race touched upon in this book but there's also the controversy over college football as well. Some other reviewers have said that once the author got all technical about football, they started to lose interest in the book. Why would a book about a football player not get technical about football? I personally loved that aspect of the book. It is stereotypical of athletes to hate on books as a whole, but I feel that this book could be a great interest as it gives them a common interest to relate to.

The only reason I didn't give this book five stars is because Lewis never really dove deeper into the social issues that the book had the chance to explore. There was the issue of race, education, and socioeconomic issues too. However, Lewis simply touches on these issues lightly and dedicates the majority of the pages to extra stories that aren't really too relevant to the main idea of the book.

9/25/09 - As a book club read, this was different. And as football is not my favorite sport (I don't dislike it, but for me it ranks below baseball & basketball), I wasn't sure how I was going to like it, but I went in with an open mind. It basically alternates between chapters about football player Michael Oher's "history" & the emerging importance of the position of left tackle in the NFL and in college football. Overall, a very educational story for me. For someone who doesn't necessarily consider themselves a true football fan, some of the football history may seem a little dry. I was okay with it, but tended to start skimming the further I got into the book.

The chapters specifically about Michael Oher were more engaging, although I feel myself left with a sour taste in my mouth as to the role the Tuohy family played in developing this young man's sports career. I have mixed feelings about that. If not for the financial & other numerous supports that the family provided him, he'd still be just another black kid on the street, struggling to survive. Hence, his is an inspiring story and the Tuohy's should probably be commended for their unfaltering support of Oher. But it reaffirms to me that in many cases, money makes the world go 'round, and in many instances, it was the Tuohy money that allowed all of this to happen. It makes one wonder about all of the other potential "stars" out there (athletes & other), who are unable to realize their potential because they're not fortunate to "fall into" the life-altering situation that Oher did.