The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game

by Michael Lewis
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Publish Date: October 09, 2009
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Overview

Soon to be a major motion picture starring Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw, "The Blind Side" tells the inspirational story of Michael Oher, a homeless black teen who, with the help of his new family, coaches, and tutors, becomes a star football player and first-round NFL draft pick. Its not a jock book. Its not a sociology book. Its a storybook about modern society, ancient virtues, and the power of love, money and talent to do a little good.

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.

Author Information

Michael Lewis

Michael Lewis, the best-selling author of Liar's Poker, The Money Culture, The New New Thing, Moneyball, The Blind Side, Panic, Home Game, The Big Short, and Boomerang, among other works, lives in Berkeley, California, with his wife and three children.

Customer Reviews

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Showing 1-10 of the 23 most recent reviews

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Posted October 25, 2011 by , Okeechobee, FL
4.Awesome. A beautiful story

Posted May 06, 2010 by Susan, Lebanon, PA

I am not very good with football knowledge but, even, the statistics of the evolution of football kept me interested. It was very much needed to understand how Michael Oher would fit into the game and the position he would eventually play. I have so much respect for Michael and the Tuohy family. The movie was good and the book even better.
5.Great book for sports fans

Posted May 06, 2010 by Steve, Anderson, SC

I really liked this book. It combined a great story with an interesting history of the development of the game of football. I highly recommend especially for those who have an interest in professional sports.
6.Left me completely dissapointed!

Posted February 23, 2010 by amanda s., ontario, ca.

As soon as I saw the previews on tv for the movie based on this book I couldnt wait to read it. So many books are better than their movie based counterparts. However this book isn't one of them. If you enjoy never ending football statistics and play by play action of a football game in a book then this is the book for you. There were a couple small sections about the intriguing young black man and the family that helped him to greatness... but inevitably you were right back to football stastistics in the blink of an eye. I hated it so much I couldnt make myself finish it. I have never done that. Horribly dissapointed.
7.I ASSALUTLY LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GO TO READ!

Posted January 25, 2010 by im awesome, Los angelos

YOU HAVE TO READ THIS ! i HATE SPORTS BUT THIS BOOK IS AMAZING!!! yOU HAVENT LIVED UNTIL YOU HAVE READ THIS!
8.To Much Football Talk

Posted January 09, 2010 by Posted January 8, 2010 Nancy , New York

I like football but the story line was getting to much for me. Movie so much better. Bottom line a wonderful story line. See the movie instead of reading it.
9.Good Book. Better Movie.

Posted January 02, 2010 by Michael, Toronto

The book was touching to read and even more touching to watch as you see the movie come to life with Michael's feelings.
10.It's a Sports Book, Not a Biography!

Posted December 30, 2009 by Amber J, Studio City, CA

If you're looking for the book on which the movie 'The Blind Side' is based, you may be slightly disappointed. First and foremost, Michael Lewis is a sportswriter. The full title of this book (in its original printing) is 'The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game,' which should give you a hint it's a sports book. If you have read any of his other books, like Moneyball, Lewis is concerned with dissecting sports and understanding how they work. In order to tell the story of a sport, he finds a real life phenomenon to emphasize his opinions about the sport in question. With Moneyball, he used the story of Billy Bean and the Oakland A's as the backdrop for his dissection of baseball; in The Blind Side, the inspirational story of Michael Oher and the Tuohy family provides the backdrop.

In The Blind Side, Lewis takes on the king of sports, football, and tries to make sense of how the game works and give light to the positions that really determine the outcome of the game (most people think it's the QB and flashy receivers and running backs, but they're only a part of the equation). As he unfolds the history behind the left tackle position, he focuses on Michael Oher, a kid from the Memphis ghettos who is taken in by an affluent white Christian family, and given an opportunity to thrive and excel to ultimately realize his potential and play in the NFL.

To say the story of Oher and the Tuohys is inspirational is an understatement. However, if you've seen the movie, or heard of the story, and are looking for a more detailed biography, you'll probably be disappointed. Lewis isn't a biographer, he's a sports writer, and this story is about football, first and last.