Not a bad non-fiction story to read, both engaging and entertaining. I saw the movie and when I found a second hand copy of the book available, I figured I might like the book better. I will have to say that while the book is more informative and total in giving the whole picture, the movie might be a better attention grabber. You can't go wrong with Sandra Bullock as the lead actress, after all.

The movie is good at showing us why Michael Oher was an amazing find, physical wise, and from where he came from, who helped him, and where he ends up. The missing pieces that are found in the book, that I didn't even know was missing actually and is probably why the movie is more entertaining, is just why professional American football was so ready for someone like Michael Oher.

The driest part of the book, to me, were the sections that talk about the history of football, the offensive tackle position specifically in its rise from just another body on the field to a position of importance. Others may find those sections interesting, and it was to a certain point, but I found the sections dealing with Michael Oher's history and family more interesting. I guess I live for the drama. XD I will say that I never felt lost in the history of football sections, no matter that I'm not the biggest fan. The points are made, even if some finer details go over the head.

One interesting thing I read in those sections was a comparison to baseball stats, in that American football stats are staggeringly small to those of the baseball community, historically speaking. And thinking about it, it's true! You can't not watch a baseball game without hearing some ten stats or so.

My favorite section in the family half was when Micheal Oher and Sean Touhy were studying a Tennyson poem. What finally resonated with Micheal felt really heartwarming, and kinda hype, to read.

So all in all, I'd say the book had a great balance between the two sections to tell a complete story. Will probably stick with the movie, but with knowing all the rest to fill in the (not really noticeable) gaps. I'm not sad I read the book.

I'm conflicted about this book. I saw the movie years ago in theatres, and bought the book when I worked part-time at Borders. All that to say that I'm now reading it quite awhile after the book published and the movie was made.

On one hand, Michael Oher is such a captivating person and it's incredible to read about everything he went through. While the book describes a lot of his life, it also includes a lot of information about football. Some of it was interesting, and some of it made my eyes glaze over.

But what the book reeked of was white saviorism. I struggled with it a lot. Some of the things the Tuohy family said were so cringey I literally winced while reading them.

So there's that.

After seeing the movie I was curious about the book and though I'm not a big football fan decided to give it a read.

The story is well written and Michael Oher's story is compelling. I'd been curious about the Racism vs. Ole Miss angle as it was not emphasized in the film and knowing what I did of Ole Miss's history I was curious. This was covered very well in the book.

I was a bit daunted by depth of the coverage of the evolution of football in the book but I can't say I wasn't warned... The title indicated as much. Mostly the explanations of football strategy were very good and I followed most of it though I'm in no way a fan of the game. There were a few sections (particularly when the footnotes got to be close to half a page) when the football details became too much for me but I'm sure that dyed in the wool fans loved it.

Even the sections on Lawrence Taylor and and Steve Wallace, and John Ayers were eminently readable, even for a non-fan.

If you're a sports fan or if you've got one on your gift list, this may well be a great buy. If you'd rather not learn a lot about football but are still curious about the Michael Oher story, by all means, check out the movie.

Lewis’ writing shows clear bias. He treated the Tuohys (his friends) with evident care, portraying them favorably throughout the book. In contrast, Oher was depicted in a dismissive and dehumanizing manner, with some descriptions bordering on racist. I'm appalled by Lewis's lack of integrity as a writer. He should have done a more thorough job in researching and presenting the material. Here are some articles you should read before picking up this book: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/18/ma...
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/3...

Michael Lewis is an incredibly talented writer. He makes true stories feel like edge-of-your-seat suspense thrillers that you literally cannot stop reading. And I knew this story! Sure, the movie used poetic license to change many aspects of Michael’s story but I had read about him after watching the movie so I already knew most of what had been changed. And I still couldn’t stop reading this book! Brilliant. That’s it, I’ve got to borrow Moneyball from the library and start reading it right now!

Dnf at 104. Now, let me explain. So I absolutely loved the movie The Blind Side, I've seen it many many times and that's saying something because I hate sports. With that being said, I hate football, and that is why this book didn't do it for me. The book seemed to read more like a documentary in my opinion and I rather watch a documentary then read one. It also had way more football talk in it then the movie and I felt like I was learning more about the sport itself then Michael Oher's life.

In all honesty I actually did enjoy this book at first, I could get past all the information about football that bored me and I actually enjoyed learning more about Michaels life in the beginning. But the more I read, the more I caught myself getting really bored and wondering "should I just dnf this" and the more I wondered the more I realized that yes, I should. I really don't want to throw myself into a reading slump so the best thing for me is to put this book back on my shelf and possibly pick it up at a later time. If I'm being honest with myself though I honestly don't think I'll ever pick it up again. I'm not saying it was bad! This would be a perfect read for someone who loves football, or is trying to learn more about the sport. I on the other hand am not really interested in learning about football so much as I was learning about Michael Oher's life and I feel the movie gave me that and also kept me entertained better then the book did.

I love Michael Lewis’s books and this one was an interesting read. But there was so much discussion of the physicality of a black child, often using animal terms, that I found off putting. The author tried to deal with some of the racial tensions in Memphis but only very minimally acknowledged how gross commoditizing football players is.

The Blind Side by Michael Lewis is a heartwarming novel based on a true story about a homeless African-American teen, named Michael, who is taken in by Leigh Anne Tuohy and Sean Tuohy. The loving couple help Michael by doing everything they can to make sure of his success. After finding an interest in football the Tuohys helped make his interest a reality, and soon Michael was recruited by a major college football team with his loving family by his side. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good heartwarming story. I gave this book a five star rating because I loved the message and the emotion that was portrayed in the book. It shows what a little love and care can do for someone, and how important family is.

Another excellent book, Lewis does it again. I love the research done and his writing style.

I find this story to be extremely fascinating especially because of Michael’s eventual adoption, and I love to hear the positive affects adoption can bring.

How can we help minority children realize their value (including those who are not academically gifted or extremely athletic)?

If you only watch the movie you are getting half of the book. I freely admit to NOT being a sports fan, but Lewis had me longing to watch a football game. He flawlessly combines a personal story with the history and politics of football - and it's the politics that I was particularly drawn to. I strongly suggest reading the book even if you've already seen the movie.

This book bored me. The experience is best described as reading the transcripts of a 20/20 segment.

The blind side is a great book for someone that wants to see a different perspective. The book is about a guy named Michael oher who lives in the outskirts of Memphis, Tennessee. His parents are divorced and he grew up very poor. His mom gets arrested and Michael and his brother become foster kids. Michael is a big guy and loves sports. He eventually runs into this very wealthy family known as the Touohy family. After meeting him, he quickly becomes a part of the family. The family adopts him as there own. The family convinces him to take part on the high school football team. He instantly becomes a star and sooner than later, college offers come rolling in. He commits to The University Of Mississippi. He has an outstanding college career. he eventually gets drafted by the Baltimore ravens. This book shows the perspective of a person who grew up poor to become an NFL star. I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars.