We are huge fans of Michael Lewis, one of the foremost practitioners of the new literary journalism, an engaging style of nonfiction that blends workmanlike reportage and artful, creative narration. Now the bestselling author of Liar's Poker, Moneyball, and Coach scores a touchdown with this insightful look at professional football and the changing nature of a game now tightly focused on speed, size, and strength. Typically, Lewis provides an appealing, human-interest hook to his deft analysis of America's most popular spectator sport. At the heart of The Blind Side is the remarkable story of a rising gridiron star, a young man -- rescued from an excruciatingly disadvantaged youth by a remarkable family, a Christian education, and the game of football -- who seems destined for a stellar career (and an astronomical salary) in the NFL.
Janet Maslin
Michael Lewis has such a gift for storytelling that it can be dangerous to his nonfiction. He is so much fun to read that he can appear to be shaping an entertaining narrative by sandpapering reality's rough edges. The real-life fable that is The Blind Side tells how a mountainous, destitute black teenager miraculously morphs into an Ole Miss football hero and becomes a member of a wealthy white evangelical family. Its dialogue is sharp and its anecdotes well chosen. Its aim for both the heartstrings and the funny bone is right on the mark.
—The New York Times
Allen Barra
The Blind Side, perhaps the best book written about a college football player since Willie Morris's The Courting of Marcus Dupree (1983), grabs hold of you in several ways. On one hand, you'll be appalled by the tactics used to advance academically unqualified high school and college football players. At the same time, you'll be furiously turning the pages, rooting for Michael Oher to succeed. And the story isn't over: If Oher makes it into the NFL in three years, Lewis should have a dandy follow-up.
— The Washington Post
Publishers Weekly
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. In his sketch of the gridiron arms race, first came the modern, meticulously choreographed passing offense, then the ferocious defensive pass rusher whose bone-crunching quarterback sacks demolished the best-laid passing game, and finally the rise of the left tackle the offensive lineman tasked with protecting the quarterback from the pass rusher whose presence is felt only through the game-deciding absence of said sacks. A rare creature combining 300 pounds of bulk with "the body control of a ballerina," the anonymous left tackle, Lewis notes, is now often a team's highest-paid player. Lewis fleshes this out with the colorful saga of left tackle prodigy Michael Oher. An intermittently homeless Memphis ghetto kid taken in by a rich white family and a Christian high school, Oher's preternatural size and agility soon has every college coach in the country courting him obsequiously. Combining a tour de force of sports analysis with a piquant ethnography of the South's pigskin mania, Lewis probes the fascinating question of whether football is a matter of brute force or subtle intellect. Photos. (Oct.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
Best-selling author Lewis (Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game) shows how changes in the pro game wrought by 49ers head coach Bill Walsh's efficient passing attack and a defense emphasizing Lawrence Taylor-style speed rushers from the quarterback's blind side mean that the offensive left tackle position now rivals the quarterback both in importance and in pay scale. Lewis's discussion of evolving strategy is woven into the true focus of his book, a profile of African American football prodigy Michael Oher. One of 13 children of a drug-addicted mother, Oher was homeless in Memphis when he was placed in the Briarcrest Christian School and then adopted by a wealthy white family. He found a sense of belonging and a future. He is now the massive left tackle for the University of Mississippi. His strange, sad, and yet inspiring tale is grippingly told here. For all libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/06.]. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
The New York Times - Janet Maslin
"Its dialogue is sharp and its anecdotes well chosen."
Booklist - Wes Lukowsky
"The Blind Side 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."
George F. Will
"[Lewis] is advancing a new genre of journalism."
Baltimore Sun - Jay Hancock
"It’s not a jock book. It’s not a sociology book. It’s a storybook about modern society, ancient virtues, and the power of love, money and talent to do a little good."
Malcolm Gladwell
"As close to perfect as a work of popular nonfiction can be."
New York Times Book Review - Malcolm Gladwell
"As close to perfect as a work of popular nonfiction can be."
Susan Larson - Times-Picayune
Lewis knows how to put the reader on the field.... ?The Blind Side? displays all of Lewis' particular writing strengths: the ability to drive a story forward, the eye for both the big picture and telling detail, shrewd wit, and an unerring instinct for discerning social complexity.... You'll be tempted to stand up and cheer as you read.
”
The Economist
Lewis provides a compelling book... explaining how this subtle and brutal game has changed as the balance of power has shifted between talented athletes and clever, devoted coaches.
”
Bill Littlefield - Boston Globe
No reader with even a passing interest in the current state of our games should fail to read it.
”
Janet Maslin - New York Times
Lewis has such a gift for storytelling... he writes as lucidly for sports fans as for those who read him for other reasons.
”
A.G. Gancarski - Washington Times
[?The Blind Side?] is about much more than college football recruitment... it is actually about the American dream itself.
”
The Spectator
Provides deep insights about sport and America.
Ed Smith - The Times [London]
The strongest strand of The Blind Side is about sporting strategy.
When brain defeats brawn in one of Michael Lewis's books, you can almost hear the prose style lift off.
Malcolm Gladwell - The Observer
Lewis has made a habit of writing about sport recently, but sport is really only a subtext for a much more meaningful examination of class and race. I wept at the end, something I have not done at the end of a work of non-fiction for a very long time.
John Gapper - Financial Times
A wonderful tale.
Booklist
Starred Review.... The book works on three levels. First as a shrewd analysis of the NFL; second,
as an expose 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.
Bookmarks Magazine
It's much more than a treatise on football; it's an exploration of the limits of conventional thinking and how strategic changes affect the value of quick-footed behemoths.... That he makes it easy for his reader to comprehend—and enjoy—is enough for most critics to give Lewis's latest a rousing cheer.
The Times [London]
The strongest strand of The Blind Side is about sporting strategy.
When brain defeats brawn in one of Michael Lewis's books, you can almost hear the prose style lift off.— Ed Smith
The Observer
Lewis has made a habit of writing about sport recently, but sport is really only a subtext for a much more meaningful examination of class and race. I wept at the end, something I have not done at the end of a work of non-fiction for a very long time.— Malcolm Gladwell
Financial Times
A wonderful tale.— John Gapper
APR/MAY 07 - AudioFile
With MONEYBALL, Michael Lewis established himself as a premier chronicler of the role of money in professional sports. In THE BLIND SIDE, Lewis solidifies his position, presenting a fascinating glimpse into the evolution of left tackles as key players in professional football. The book focuses significantly on Michael Oher, a ghetto kid without education or family, who enrolls at a predominantly white Christian school. Stephen Hoye’s narration is ideal. Hoye is presented with a diverse cast of characters, and he provides each with a distinct style—from the Tuohys, who take in, educate, and socialize Oher, to the “NCAA Lady,” who tries to find evil behind every good deed. Hoye varies his delivery and tone superbly, presenting an ideal parallel to the emotions his listeners surely will share. D.J.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine
