Sports fans, particularly football fans, will find this book one of the best ever written on the subject of the evolution of the game. The logical drive of Lewis' story is this:

Legendary coach Bill Walsh developed the "West Coast" offense, which relied on many shorter passes and less on the running game.

In response to the increased importance of passes, we saw the increased importance of the pass rusher (in particular the force of nature known as Lawrence Taylor), whose job it is to prevent the quarterback from passing by coming in on his "blind side" (the side opposite the QB's passing arm).

In response to the pass rusher, we saw the increased importance of the offensive left tackle - ideally, a guy on the far side of 300 pounds, but with the agility of a track star half his size - whose job it is to keep this pass-rusher from succeeding.

The particular genius of "Blind Side" lies in the way Lewis supports his story: it's part a recounting of famous games and players, part a history of the business of football, but most importantly it is a human-interest story about a particular left tackle, the young phenomenon Michael Oher, who played for Briarcrest Christian in Memphis. Homeless and alone even as a pre-teen, he is discovered and taken in by a wealthy family whose kids go to Briarcrest. This family, the Tuohys, adopt Michael and become both his greatest advocates, his football coaches, and in effect his agents.

Michael Oher's story puts some flesh on the bones of Lewis' logical argument. It's very touching, naturally, but it also keeps the book from become abstract and esoteric. As a football fan, I loved the 'war stories' about the history of the professional game. As a business professor, I loved the parts about the competitive strategy behind the game. But as a reader (in general) and parent, Michael's story was my favorite part. Thus, this is one 'football' book I could recommend even to readers who are not avid students of the game. One of the best books of 2006.

My husband brought this book with him on our beach vacation. He is a big football fan, so I assumed that I would have no interest in the book. I could not have been more wrong! He enjoyed it so much, I picked it up to glance at the first page and wound up reading the whole thing in 2 days. We were on vacation with another couple, neither of whom like football at all, but they each wound up reading it and really enjoying it as well. I highly recommend this book.

First and foremost, this is a very good book about football--Mr. Lewis gives a clear, birds-eye perspective on the evolution of the pass-oriented offenses and pass-attacking defenses that have gradually come to dominate the professional game over the past 25 years, and this treatment alone makes for a good read. What takes up most of the space in the book, and what really made it a great read for me, is the in-depth look at the life of Michael Oher (the current LT at Ole' Miss, and a top NFL prospect). The story of Oher and his foster family is deeply compelling, and I think it makes this a great pick for marginal football fans in the same way that the overt business applications of _Moneyball_ made it a great pick for marginal baseball fans. To put it another way--this is the only football-related book that I would ever recommend to my mother, who has only a passing interest in the sport. As a Georgia Bulldog I was especially gratified by the detailed account of Oher's recruitment, which centers around the SEC and includes some very interesting encounters with Phil Fulmer and Nick Saban. As he does in all of his books, Michael Lewis takes a long look at the way markets operate and how those operations affect individuals, but this one has a much more pronounced human touch than did _Moneyball_. Those who expect "_Moneyball_ for the NFL" might be a bit disappointed, but anyone who knows a little bit about football and has a heart will probably enjoy this book immensely.

This book, like Moneyball, is excellent. Michael Lewis deftly weaves Michael Oher's story into the evolution of the game, telling a fantastic story and providing amazing detail as to how the left tackle became so necessary to the modern day game. Oher's story is also inspirational, and without trying, the author gives readers who otherwise might not care some insight into poverty, and how hard it is to get out and get ahead. I finished it in two days, and loved every second of it. It changed the way that I think about and watch football.

I chose Blind Side because I heard an NPR interview of the author, Michael Lewis. I was impressed with the story of a young black man who was helped by some wealthy "white folks" in Memphis. The book was also about NFL football. I had given "Money Ball" to a man friend for Christmas a few years back and thought this might be a book to give a couple of difficult to gift men. Then I picked up the book and began to read. Now I am not enamored with football. I will watch it but will not choose it. But the information on the history of how the defense and offense of the NFL has changed over the years was facinating. The story of Michael Ohr is also interesting, funny, and very much worth reading. It helped me understand the level of "survival" that some of my students in an alternative school come through the door with. I am encouraging my fellow teachers to read this and some of my students who do not like to read much. I think they will see some of themselves and their fellow students in Michael Ohr.