a flawed but very interesting bio/sports book
Reading the jacket blurb, one would think that The Blind Side is the football version of Moneyball - full of insights into a new approach to running a football team. And there is a little of that, as Michael Lewis chronicles the emergence of the left tackle as a position of critical importance. I liked this part of the book, even if it ran on too long and was much too repetitive. Ultimately, this book was the story of one talented boy who rose above a life of poverty and neglect, and with the help of many, got himself an education and a chance to play football at the top level. 80% of this book is a Michael Oher bio, and a good one. While the author tried to make this about big issues in football and society, the book is at its best just telling Oher's story. In spite of a number of flaws, this was a biography that I did enjoy, and I learned a little more about football in the process.

Great Read
As a person who loves sports but does not have in-depth knowledge of football (nor the patience to read a die-hard Football 101 history book!), this was a great read - both educational & entertaining. It's a wonderful blend of sports history & a real-life story that is still in progress. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the game and a great story. This book is well-written and you don't have to be an expert on the game to thoroughly enjoy it.

good sports writing, great human interest story
Lewis has always been great at dissecting the strategies people use in sports and business. Business is a big part of big football. And so are the people. As the story unfolds you will be impressed with the evolution of the game and the people who make it happen. And you will have your heart strings tugged by the story of Michael Oher, his adoptive family the Tuohys, Big Tony, and all the rest.

Fantastic Book, Fantastic Writer
I loved Michael Lewis' Moneyball, and per the suggestion of a friend I picked up The Blind Side. While Moneyball was excellent, The Blind Side may have just topped it.

Michael Lewis has a gift for being able to tell a story in a way that explains the basics of an idea and makes it fascinating to learn about. Prior to reading this book, I would have classified myself as a casual NFL football fan; However, after reading Lewis' account of the evolution of the left tackle, it completely changed both the way I think about and watch the game.

As if redefining the game of football wasn't enough, Lewis also has taken a character in Michael Oher and created one of the most interesting, unlikely, and moving stories I have read about. Oher's story gives a sense of hope that by being surrounded by special, caring people, there is no limit to what one can accomplish.

A great book, easily one of the best I've read all year.

This is not just a sports book
First to give you full disclosure I'm a University of Georgia (UGA)Ball Fan. In the South "Ball" means just one thing, football. Does your son play ball has only one meaning, unless you are a Tech fan, then it could mean basketball, but those guys still carry slide rules.

I bought this book because I thought it was a "sports story". I was wrong. It is an incredible human interest story, also. One which has caused me to laugh out loud and read some passages to my wife and, others, which made me cry.

This should be required reading for every school board official in the country.

Oprah ought to put it in her book club.

The author starts off explaining why an offensive left tackle is important in football (See Lawrence Taylor (L.T) and Joe (How I got my leg broken on national television) Thiesmann. It tells of the evolution of the passing game in the NFL from a steam-roller running game to a finesse passing game ala Bill Walsh (see west Coast Offense that was really born in Cincinnati).
I particular enjoyed the antidote about his official trip to visit the University of Tennessee.



But what will be of greater human interest is the overlay of the story of Michael Oher, the "man/child" currently playing football at Ole Miss. Oher shows up at a predominantly white Christian school in the 9th grade with virtually no school history and horrible family background. An incredibly shy 350 pound kid struggles but ingratiates himself to faculty and staff and manages to stick around. Finally one Thanksgiving Day a volunteer assistant coach and his wife see him at a bus stop in his usual shorts and recognize that in addition to no money for food, he is traveling to the gym to watch practice just to be in a heated room. Through incredible acts of kindness and caring this young man is taken in by this wealthy Christian family who attempt to socialize and educate him for the future.

But little did they realize that at 6' 6" with an incredible frame and quick feet, football coaches would see their answer to possibly the most important position on the football field and they would relentlessly come calling. This presents many problems as Oher has virtually no chance of attending college with his past educational background. Thus begins the odyssey of the recruiting wars for this individual who by the end of high school has been called the best pro prospect even though he has played in only 15 football games.

This portion of the book dominates approximately 60% of the book. It is incredibly touching and I certainly applaud the sympathetic, caring approach by Leigh Ann and Sean Tuohy. This book is not just for football fans as the issues here are much greater. How does a child get to the 9th grade with virtually no retention of knowledge or ability to function in a social setting? What can a change in culture and caring do for this young man? And other questions will also appear such as is their potential ulterior motives for selecting this student out of so many and wasn't the final steps to eligibility really inappropriate? As to my opinion I choose to believe that the Tuohy's were interested in helping another human being, and in the process, it enriched the lives of their family, this young man and the possibilities that a loving, caring environment can create.

I strongly recommend this book for football fans, sociologists, and people with interest in politics, religion, or Southern Culture as there are many issues intertwined. Once again, the weakness to this book may be that he narrowed its focus by making it a "sports book". It's not. Its main message concerns underprivileged kids and how a change in environment can produce incredible results

I thought it was hilarious that Sean Tuohy read Michael the following and told him that it was about Ole Miss going into the stadium at LSU (THE STADIUM IS KNOWN AS ""Death Valley,":


The Charge of the Light Brigade
by Alfred Lord Tennyson

Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
"Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!" he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
"Forward, the Light Brigade!"
Was there a man dismayed?
Not though the soldier knew
Some one had blundered:
Their's not to make reply,
Their's not to reason why,
Their's but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.
Flashed all their sabres bare,
Flashed as they turned in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wondered:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right through the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reeled from the sabre-stroke
Shattered and sundered.
Then they rode back, but not,
Not the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came through the jaws of Death
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!

Oh, I'm an ex-artillery officer as well.

Highly recommended for educational professionals and members of Boards of education. It wouldn't hurt if you are a fan of college football ,either.


Gunner August, 2008