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The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game (0393330478)
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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 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.Editorial Descriptions are usually submitted by the manufacturers, publishers and authors. Contact us if you are one of them, and wish to change the above description. |
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Author: Guest
First and foremost: The Blind Side is not Moneyball for football, so if that is what you are hoping for look elsewhere.
There are two primary storylines. First, the inner-workings of modern professional football as told through the evolution of the left tackle (aka the "blind side"). Second, the lives of top high school football recruits, as told through the story of one impoverished high school student who happens to be a "freak of nature" football prospect.
I would have liked to have seen more of the first, Moneyball-esque, "inside look" storyline, and less of the second. Unfortunately for me, Lewis focuses on the second.
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Author: Guest
Buy this book! I enjoyed it so much that, after reading it, I immediately went online and searched for more information about the main character and his current team. The author, Michael Lewis, also does a wonderful of job of weaving in pertinent background information about the history of the NFL passing game, and the importance of the left tackle position in football. If you're looking for a great read, look no further! Michael Oher's story is as inspiring as it gets!
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Author: Guest
I've read all of Michael Lewis' books except "Coach" (as a friend recently commented, "let's leave those to Mitch Albom"). Lewis has made a career out of counter-intuition. "The Blind Side" fits well into the Lewis groove. The casual fan watches football and thinks quarterback, running back, wide receiver. But Lewis takes you through the game's evolution (with its increased reliance on precision passing) and shows you why the left tackle has become the game's second-highest-paid position. As Lewis notes, as the salaries of quarterbacks have risen, so has the cost of insurance. And, on the football field, quarterback insurance is personified by the left tackle...protector of the blind side.
As one reviewer notes here, 'The Blind Side' contains "many stories, all good." Exactly. While the incredible tale of Michael Oher consumes a good portion of the book, there are other great stories. For example, Lewis paints a brilliantly vivid picture of Lawrence Taylor's impact on the league; and I love the juxtaposition of Bill Walsh's brand of football (as personified by Joe Montana) vs. Bill Parcells' brand of football (as personified by LT).
I'm tempted to say this might be Lewis' finest work. The only reason I won't is because of the monster that is Liar's Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street, a book that people may well be referencing 50 years from now. I'm also a big fan of the under-appreciated "Trail Fever" (released as Losers: The Road to Everyplace but the White House - which I bet Lewis hated since the whole point of the book was that the so-called losers were life's real winners - in paperback). But "The Blind Side" is surely the author's best storytelling. I bet he'll agree to that.
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Author: Guest
If you don't care a lick about football, you probably won't get much out of this book; but if you have even a glimmer of interest in football and enjoy books that are well written, then do yourself a favor and read Blind Side. Michael Lewis is someone who can develop a story--he writes stunningly well.
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Author: Guest
Lewis fans will not be dissappointed by this wonderful read. As always, Lewis explains the evolution of his subject, in this case an offensive left tackle, in an interesting, compelling, and fact-based manner. His humor is ever present and he takes fair shots at all participants. Lewis' keen eye for socio-economic and cultural dynamics is actually surpassed by his ability to communciate the nuances in a direct, unflinching way. I always enjoy Lewis' writing style, which I feel is a little like Hemingway's short, athletic prose. At the end of the day what Lewis is really really good at is understanding that shifts in culture (sports, business, etc) happen because certain individuals make them happen. His ability to delve into the lives of these people and help us get to know them is what makes his books so interesting.
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