About this title: 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 ...
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Description: Very good. Title page may be missing or torn. UNREAD but may have a crease or mark or minor imperfections. In stock-Sent fast from British booksellers. read more
Edition: FILM TIE-IN ED
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: WW NORTON & CO Country = UNITED STATES
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780393338386ISBN:039333838X
Description: BRAND NEW PAPERBACK. 320 pages. Introduces to the reader, one of thirteen children by a crack-addicted mother; who does not know his real name, his father, his birthday or any of the things a child might learn in school. 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. illustrations edition film tie-in ed (Paperback) read more
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co.
Date Published: 9/17/2007
ISBN-13:9780393330472ISBN:0393330478
Description: Fine. 0393330478 NEW/UNREAD! ! ! Text is Clean and Unmarked! --Be Sure to Compare Seller Feedback and Ratings before Purchasing--Has a small black ink mark on outside edge of pages. May have light shelf wear to cover from storage, if any. read more
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co.
Date Published: 9/2/2006
ISBN-13:9780393061239ISBN:039306123X
Description: Fine. 039306123X NEW/UNREAD! ! ! Text is Clean and Unmarked! --Be Sure to Compare Seller Feedback and Ratings before Purchasing--Has a small black ink mark on outside edge of pages. May have light shelf wear to cover from storage, if any. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Ww Norton & Co
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780393330472ISBN:0393330478
Description: New. Features a young man who will one day be among the most highly paid athletes in the National Football League. The author introduces him to the reader, while he is one of thirteen children by a crack-addicted mother. He takes up American football and s... read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: W W NORTON & CO
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780393338386ISBN:039333838X
Description: New. Introduces to the reader, one of thirteen children by a crack-addicted mother; who does not know his real name, his father, his birthday or any of the things a child might learn in school. Nor has he ever touched a football. He takes up American footb... read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780393338386ISBN:039333838X
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Description: New. Please note that deliveries to addresses in the UK and Europe will be in 4-14 business days. Other countries should refer to Alibris standard times. ISBN10: 039333838X. read more
"There is a lot of football strategy in this book. So much that it was difficult to read at times, and other times I just skipped entire chapters. I enjoyed reading about Michael Oher's life, and look forward to the movie coming out.
I kept asking Brian (big football fan) about the name, Michael Oher. He had never heard of him. I googled Oher and found that he was chosen by the Cleveland Browns (like 29th pick or something), one of the worst teams in the NFL today. That was a little disappointing, since Lewis gave him so much hype. That isn't to say Oher isn't a good player, but it just seemed like EVERYBODY wanted him - so why did the Browns get him? Why didn't my husband know about him? Would the movie help his career?
When it comes down to it, I enjoyed the storyline - very inspirational. But the fact is, I just don't care about sports. I wish I did so that Brian and I can have something in common, but we have plenty of other things we can enjoy together."
"Considering how football-ignorant I am, I really enjoyed this book. I enjoy watching football during the season, but have never learned much about how the game works. Most of the positions beyond QB and kicker are baffling to me, so following plays is impossible. Fortunately, The Blind Side manages to add a human element to keep the game interesting. I certainly am still confused, but the book did enlighten me about certain aspects of the game that I was unaware of.
Lewis does a great job of providing enough background to understand his points without swamping a reader with too much information. This book isn't just about Michael Oher; it's about the changes in football offensive strategy over the course of a few decades. Oher is just a convenient - and crowd-pleasing - example of the way football and the NFL has evolved.
Oher's story is pretty amazing, to the point of being a little unbelievable. But if you go with the flow, and accept that his adoptive family are the saints they seem to be, the book is pretty touching.
Glad I read it, I learned something, and I think I'll see the movie. Over-all, pretty enjoyable read."
"I'm a big fan of Michael Lewis' work, so it should be no suprise to anyone that I enjoyed this book. The book, which was published in 2004, tells the story of of a poor African-American kid who is taken in by a well-to-do White family in Memphis and goes from barely being able to read to graduating high school and being one of the most sought-after high school football players in the United States, all after only playing for one high school season. He eventually goes on to play left tackle at Ole Miss, makes the Dean's list there and was drafted this year to play for the Ravens with a $13M contract. Of course, as is true with most of Lewis' work, this story is merely a way to highlight his true subjects, which are the evolution of football strategy in the past 20-30 years and the importance of access to resources for athletic, and really, any type of success.
He describes the move from rushing to passing offense and how it's trickled down through the NFL to now, high school ball. This change has drastically impacted the value of various players, causing QBs and left tackles, who protect the QB's "blind side" to be the most valued and recruited players. The book provides a great overview of this evolution, and the story of Michael Oher is one of those triumph over tragedy stories, but what makes it great is that the author doesn't lose sight that this is a one-in-a-million story. Michael's size and nutured talent positioned him perfectly to excel in a postion that only recently became so critical to a team's success. His personal path was influeced by many lucky breaks and the book doesn't forget about the many others like him that didn't make it out of Memphis or even out of high school, because they weren't so lucky."
"Without doubt the first time I have ever been up to 2 am reading about the evolution of football strategy. I was totally captivated. Great writing. In addition, the book takes place, for the most part, in Memphis, Tennessee and Oxford, Mississippi, where I have spent some time, so I liked that too.
Whenever I talk about Mississippi, where I lived for two years, I feel somewhat schizophrenic in that I want to balance every positive statement with a negative and vice versa It's hard to communicate a sense of a place that can feel like too many extremes at once. So I have to applaud Michael Lewis' attempts to write coherently about this corner of the American South.
I also recognize that the subject of the book is a poor black teen adopted by a rich white family, so that's the lens through which the story is viewed.
BUT...BUT...and this is a big one...I grew increasingly uncomfortable in the last chapter when the statements became more generally about the possible positive impact of rich white people on poor black people. I couldn't help but wonder what role a rich BLACK family could have and how many rich black people live in Memphis. Do they live in the white world like Michael Oher, the subject of this book, or are there parallel rich societies in Memphis divided by race? I recognize that this maybe an unfair criticism as it was beyond the subject of the book, but I would have felt better if it sounded less like the only salvation of black Memphis was white Memphis. I would like to think we live in a more nuanced world than that and if we don't , it should be outrageous.
Also, I found it a little disingenuous that the author completely dissed an Ole Miss offensive coach in the book only to turn around and say, "there aren't many coaches who know more about offensive play" in the acknowledgment section. Really? You are going to insult someone and then make it up with a vague compliment? Really?
Notwithstanding all of the above, it was a very compelling read. Seriously. Thanks to Craig and Jen for the rec.
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