Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4640 in Books
• Published on: 2007-10-02
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Synopsis
The young man at the centre of this "compelling book" ("The Economist") will one day be among the most highly paid athletes in the National Football League. When Michael Lewis introduces him to the reader, he is one of thirteen children by a crack-addicted mother; he does not know his real name, his father, his birthday or any of the things a child might learn in school-such as how to read or write. Nor has he ever touched a football.He takes up American football and school, after a rich, Evangelical, Republican family plucks him from the mean streets. Their love is the first great force that alters the world's perception of the boy, whom they adopt. The second force is the evolution of professional American football into a game where the quarterback must be protected at any cost. Lewis' protagonist turns out to be the priceless combination of size, speed and agility necessary to guard the quarterback's greatest vulnerability: his blind side.

Customer Reviews

A fascinating and moving insight into the growth of a potential NFL star
A fascinating and moving insight into the growth of a potential NFL star from very humble and difficult beginnings. I am sure the vast majority of people who have read this will be pulling for Oher to make it to the big stage. The development and changes in the guys life are brought out well by Michael Lewis here, this is a very fine book, he clearly has a knack for writing about sports what with this and Moneyball. I look forward to his next book on football, although I fear we may have to wait longer than I would really like.

As a footnote - Oher declared for the 2008 NFL draft, then changed his mind, giving him another season in college.

Brilliant
I loved this book. It details Oher's life so far, how he came to be where he is, expalins how the left tackle position has evolved into the one it is now and the importance it carries, and the various colleges that recruited Oher.

Great book, recommend to any american football fan.

Grips like a giant left tackle and won't let go!
I've been a fan of Michael Lewis since he wrote his first book 'Liar's Poker'. I loved that book, and his ability to make a strange world seem familiar (in that case the world of Wall Street). Having read and enjoyed Moneyball, I got this as a gift from my wish list.

Once I'd read the first chapter where he describes the sudden, shocking demise of a quarterback, I was hooked, even though I have no real clue about how American football actually works. When I occasionally watch the Super Bowl, I spend most of the time saying things like 'where's the ball', 'why has that guy vanished' etc.

Lewis interleaves the story of how quarterbacks and by extension left tackles became much more valuable (in game and money terms), as he did in MoneyBall with the inspirational story of Michael Oher a dirt poor black guy who lucks into a rich white school because of his size and athletic ability.

Lewis has become expert at combining analysis of markets in the unlikeliest places with a more human story. Just occasionally it gets a bit too hokey, but otherwise it's compulsive. Deserves a wider readership than it'll get in the UK.