Reviews
The story of Michael Oher and how he was pulled from a life without a future into a new life of white christian football America, where his athletic prowess was groomed and harnessed up until he joined the Ole Miss Rebels. Sprinkled with bits and pieces of NFL history and how the game developed to focus more on passing plays and strong left tackles. Before I made the connection between the publication date (2006) and Michael Ohers pro career (starting with a first round draft by the Baltimore Ravens), the scope and timeline of this book struck me as odd. It did not contain anything from his career as a pro. Now, that I got to know Michael Oher, I would love to learn more about his path from Massachusetts College Football to the Super Bowl XLVII with the Ravens. Instead of completing the story about his life up until now, the book stopped at his first year at college and instead circled back to his past. Of course now I know that the book simply reached the present when it was written. I wish I knew this sooner, so my expectations would have adjusted. Right now (right after finishing the book) it leaves me wanting more.
It was a little odd at times to have the focus of the book be divided between the story of Michael Oher and the history of a football position. But overall it was heartwarming and informative.
Fantastic sports read, great book to recommend to middle school/high school boys
Aside from playing NFL Blitz on the Dreamcast while at university, my only other connection to American Football is via the Netflix series Last Chance U, which, to be honest, I enjoyed more as an exposé on the awful state of public education in America. The Blind Side was an excellent next step in my understanding of "America's Game". It tells the story of the sport's evolution (from the running to the passing game) through the eyes of Michael Oher, a prodigious left tackle who happens to be adopted by a new family at the age of 16. It's part football history, part examination of race and inequality. And given that the book was written in 2006, and that the public's understanding structural racism has come on a lot since then, it nevertheless feels surprisingly modern and treats the issues with the respect a contemporary reader should demand. Fans of Lewis will also recognise his incredible story telling. The narrative reveals all the twists and turns the book takes in a way that never makes its conclusion feel obvious.
So I discovered a few days ago that the guy who wrote the economics books I've been reading recently (Michael Lewis) also wrote The Blind Side - one of my favourite movies that I watch at least once a year. I had to read it (well - listen). What I didn't notice was the full title of the book: The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game "Evolution of a game". So yeah the book has a hell of a lot more football stuff in it than the movie. I'm not a sports person of any kind, then add to the fact that not being American I have also never seen a real game of football, and well there was always going to be way too much football in this book. Michael Oher was only one half of the book the other half was about, you guessed it, the evolution of the game, which had something to do with the San Fransisco 49ers in the 1980s. That stuff became background noise. The Michael Oher side was fascinating - not as simple or straight forward as the movie makes out.
