Book Review: The Blind Side

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I finished Michael Lewis' book The Blind Side a few weeks ago. What a great story with a lot of heart. The book alternates between the history of the left tackle position, the player that protects the quarterback's blind side, in the NFL and the story of Michael Oher, a kid growing up in the impoverished slums of west Memphis, taken in by the wealthy Tuohy family and given a chance to succeed in football as a left tackle.

The left tackle position was undervalued in the early days of the NFL until Lawrence Taylor, linebacker of the New York Giants, wrecked havoc on quarterbacks by attacking their blind side. The book begins with Washington Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann suffering a severe injury at the hands of Taylor. Later on, San Francisco 49ers coach Bill Walsh, the genius behind the "West Coast Offense", devised a plan to stop Taylor by putting his biggest blocker on the left side. Now that the passing game is even more crucial to teams than ever, the left tackle is often times the second highest-paid player on the team.

But it was the story of Michael Oher that was the highlight of the book. Michael was an African-American kid who had hardly ever slept on a bed, or known what having his own room was like. His mom was a drug addict, they lived in housing projects (appropriately named Hurt Village), he had to repeat first and second grade, and was what some would consider "damaged goods". After a family friend sent his son and Michael to a private, mostly white Christian school on the other side of town, the Tuohy family effectively adopts him and sets him on a path to success in both academics (his GPA went from a 0.9 to a 2.65) and sports. He was the school's starting left tackle and went on to earn a scholarship from Ole Miss, the same school that Mr. and Mrs. Tuohy attended. Michael currently plays in the NFL for the Baltimore Ravens as the rookie starting right tackle, though he may move back to left tackle after gaining experience at the pro level. The Ravens' offensive line, the group of players that Oher is a part of, is receiving early rave reviews for protecting quarterback Joe Flacco.

The book's main flaw was there were times reading the book where I wanted to get back to Michael Oher's story, rather than hear the nuances of the evolution of the left tackle. Oher's story is so gripping, you want to see more of it and the left tackle history can get a bit technical at times, losing casual readers.

To hear author Michael Lewis in an NPR interview for the book, go here. And, as with most books, a movie adaptation is on the way this November (video courtesy of A3FilmTrailers/Warner Bros.):