The Blind Side

Evolution of a Game

By: Michael Lewis

Narrated by: Stephen Hoye

Length: 11 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

In football, as in life, the value we place on people changes with the rules of the games they play.

When we first meet the young man at the center of this extraordinary and moving story, he is one of 13 children by a mother addicted to crack; he does not know his real name, his father, his birthday, or any of the things a child might learn in school. And he has no serious experience playing organized football.

What changes? He takes up 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 football itself.

In The Blind Side, Lewis shows us a largely unanalyzed but inexorable trend in football working its way down from the pros to the high school game, where it collides with the life of a single young man to produce a narrative of great and surprising power.

©2006 Michael Lewis (P)2006 Books on Tape

Critic reviews

“[Lewis] is advancing a new genre of journalism.” (George F. Will, New York Times Book Review)

“...works on three levels. First as a shrewd analysis of the NFL; second, as an exposé of the insanity of big-time college football recruiting; and, third, as a moving portrait of the positive effect that love, family, and education can have in reversing the path of a life that was destined to be lived unhappily and, most likely, end badly.” (Wes Lukowsky, Booklist)

"As he did so memorably for baseball in Moneyball, Lewis takes a statistical X-ray of the hidden substructure of football, outlining the invisible doings of unsung players that determine the outcome more than the showy exploits of point scorers.... Lewis probes the fascinating question of whether football is a matter of brute force or subtle intellect." (Publishers Weekly)

Lewis Scores Again

Michael Lewis once again breaks down a sweeping and complicated subject ( how football changed from a running game to a passing game) into an understandable and pleasurable read

Outstanding book, quite a surprise

I shouldn't have been as surprised by this book asI was. Michael Lewis can make any topic interesting, but I am not a big football fan and initially resisted reading this book despite how much I like his work. It really demonstrates that every topic is interesting if narrated with the right amount of enthusiasm and background in the hands of a wonderful writer. The story made commuting fly by. In addition to the evolution of football the author treats head-on many of the issues of racism brought up by the adoption of a young black man by a white family that are addressed more subtly in a fictional treatment like Ann Patchett's 'RUN'. Interestingly, although I am a big fan of fiction, I thought this non-fictional treatment was more effective. The narration was also great. This was a big hit for me and out of my usual comfort zone.

Great read

Although I thought the book moneyball was the more interesting of the two Lewis sports books., the blind side is unique in telling a story of football stategy and family. if your a football historian like me, it's a must read. There are a lot of interesting stories and references to Lawrence Taylor, Bill Walsh, and how the a left tackle position changed football forever.

Another home run?

I've read or listened to all of Michael Lewis's books. This is possibly his best. It is a detailed account of the changes in football and the increasing importants of the offensive left tackle, all centered around the development of a poor kid with athletic talent.

And I'm not a sports fan!

All things can be achieved

If you could sum up The Blind Side in three words, what would they be?

Amazing encouraging extraordinary

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Blind Side?

To see how a family could take in a young man in need without any type of doubts or questions.

What does Stephen Hoye bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He givens so much life to each part chapter. One minute your listening to a story them he is a sports commentator and blends it together so well.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

So hard to say it was all so moving

AMAZING

Best book I have read in a while and read it very fast. It was a great overall book highly recommend if you like football or like heart warming stories

Kept me interested

Once you get past all of the football hoopla, the story is very interesting. I skipped chapters 5 and 12 because they were all about football players and such. I’d listen to it again if it was read by Sandra Bullock in her southern accent.

good mix of two story lines

I found this a very good listen. The author blends two story lines, the advent of the right side offensive tackle in pro football, and the growth and development of a poor, black, young man from Memphis. As a social worker and a football fan I enjoyed both story lines. However, the book is so compelling that, I imagine, a listener focusing on only one of the lines could easily tolerate, and possibly enjoy, the other line. Will follow Michale Oher's career in the future and will definately seek out other books by the author.

Great book

The book is way better than the movie. Lewis has a lot more character development and details that leave the movie in the dust.
Try Moneyball and The Big Short for more.

A good book

After seeing the movie about 7 years ago I decided to listen to this audiobook . This audiobook was well read and the story matches the movie plus some more details that I did not know about the story of Michael. Truly inspiring