The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game
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The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Michael Lewis (Author), Stephen Hoye (Narrator), Random House Audio (Publisher)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 2,350 ratings
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In football, as in life, the value we place on people changes with the rules of the games they play.

When we first meet the young man at the center of this extraordinary and moving story, he is one of 13 children by a mother addicted to crack; he does not know his real name, his father, his birthday, or any of the things a child might learn in school. And he has no serious experience playing organized football.

What changes? He takes up football, and school, after a rich, Evangelical, Republican family plucks him from the mean streets.

Their love is the first great force that alters the world’s perception of the boy, whom they adopt. The second force is the evolution of professional football itself.

In The Blind Side, Lewis shows us a largely unanalyzed but inexorable trend in football working its way down from the pros to the high school game, where it collides with the life of a single young man to produce a narrative of great and surprising power.

Previous page
  1. Listening Length
    11 hours and 47 minutes
  2. Author
    Michael Lewis
  3. Narrator
    Stephen Hoye
  4. Audible release date
    October 4, 2006
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Random House Audio
  7. ASIN
    B000JGWCJW
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 11 hours and 47 minutes
Author Michael Lewis
Narrator Stephen Hoye
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date October 04, 2006
Publisher Random House Audio
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B000JGWCJW
Best Sellers Rank #43,959 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#20 in Football (Audible Books & Originals)
#83 in Football Biographies (Books)
#163 in Football (Books)

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
2,350 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

the gunner
5.0 out of 5 stars This is not just a sports book
Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2008
Verified Purchase
First to give you full disclosure I'm a University of Georgia (UGA)Ball Fan. In the South "Ball" means just one thing, football. Does your son play ball has only one meaning, unless you are a Tech fan, then it could mean basketball, but those guys still carry slide rules.

I bought this book because I thought it was a "sports story". I was wrong. It is an incredible human interest story, also. One which has caused me to laugh out loud and read some passages to my wife and, others, which made me cry.

This should be required reading for every school board official in the country.

Oprah ought to put it in her book club.

The author starts off explaining why an offensive left tackle is important in football (See Lawrence Taylor (L.T) and Joe (How I got my leg broken on national television) Thiesmann. It tells of the evolution of the passing game in the NFL from a steam-roller running game to a finesse passing game ala Bill Walsh (see west Coast Offense that was really born in Cincinnati).
I particular enjoyed the antidote about his official trip to visit the University of Tennessee.

But what will be of greater human interest is the overlay of the story of Michael Oher, the "man/child" currently playing football at Ole Miss. Oher shows up at a predominantly white Christian school in the 9th grade with virtually no school history and horrible family background. An incredibly shy 350 pound kid struggles but ingratiates himself to faculty and staff and manages to stick around. Finally one Thanksgiving Day a volunteer assistant coach and his wife see him at a bus stop in his usual shorts and recognize that in addition to no money for food, he is traveling to the gym to watch practice just to be in a heated room. Through incredible acts of kindness and caring this young man is taken in by this wealthy Christian family who attempt to socialize and educate him for the future.

But little did they realize that at 6' 6" with an incredible frame and quick feet, football coaches would see their answer to possibly the most important position on the football field and they would relentlessly come calling. This presents many problems as Oher has virtually no chance of attending college with his past educational background. Thus begins the odyssey of the recruiting wars for this individual who by the end of high school has been called the best pro prospect even though he has played in only 15 football games.

This portion of the book dominates approximately 60% of the book. It is incredibly touching and I certainly applaud the sympathetic, caring approach by Leigh Ann and Sean Tuohy. This book is not just for football fans as the issues here are much greater. How does a child get to the 9th grade with virtually no retention of knowledge or ability to function in a social setting? What can a change in culture and caring do for this young man? And other questions will also appear such as is their potential ulterior motives for selecting this student out of so many and wasn't the final steps to eligibility really inappropriate? As to my opinion I choose to believe that the Tuohy's were interested in helping another human being, and in the process, it enriched the lives of their family, this young man and the possibilities that a loving, caring environment can create.

I strongly recommend this book for football fans, sociologists, and people with interest in politics, religion, or Southern Culture as there are many issues intertwined. Once again, the weakness to this book may be that he narrowed its focus by making it a "sports book". It's not. Its main message concerns underprivileged kids and how a change in environment can produce incredible results

I thought it was hilarious that Sean Tuohy read Michael the following and told him that it was about Ole Miss going into the stadium at LSU (THE STADIUM IS KNOWN AS ""Death Valley,":

The Charge of the Light Brigade
by Alfred Lord Tennyson

Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
"Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!" he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
"Forward, the Light Brigade!"
Was there a man dismayed?
Not though the soldier knew
Some one had blundered:
Their's not to make reply,
Their's not to reason why,
Their's but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.
Flashed all their sabres bare,
Flashed as they turned in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wondered:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right through the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reeled from the sabre-stroke
Shattered and sundered.
Then they rode back, but not,
Not the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came through the jaws of Death
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!

Oh, I'm an ex-artillery officer as well.

Highly recommended for educational professionals and members of Boards of education. It wouldn't hurt if you are a fan of college football ,either.

Gunner August, 2008
25 people found this helpful
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Wendi S Burton
5.0 out of 5 stars Poverty to Private Jet
Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2017
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The Blind Side (A true story) is the best book I have read this year. I would recommend it to anyone who likes an emotional story full of love, support, and friendship. The story of Michael Oher tells the readers a story of hope: rising from the third poorest zip code in America to living with a family that owns a private jet. Michael Oher gives hope to those kids that are poor and don’t think anything will ever change. This book teaches all of us to never give up hope, and that just because you are poor doesn’t mean you are always going to stay that way.

In the book The Blind Side by Michael Lewis a poor black kid named Michael Oher unknowingly drifts into a rich, white family. Michael Oher starts attending Briarcrest and is noticed by a rich dad named Sean Tuohy , who’s family takes him in and starts pampering him with clothes, gifts, and cars. Leigh Anne, the rich family’s mom, persuades him to join the football team, and he is now the starting left tackle. Nearing the end of high school, Michael Oher decides to attend Ole Miss (Sean and Leigh Anne’s alma mater) on a football scholarship but other colleges accuse the Tuohys of only picking up Michael because of his football ability and persuaded him to go to Ole Miss. A full scale investigation is launched by the NCAA to see if the Tuohys are boosters or not; luckily this doesn’t affect the lasting relationship that Michael has with the Tuohys.

The Blind Side is a book filled to the brim with support. The text states “Leigh Anne took him aside and told him how sorry she was to hear about his dad,”(Lewis, page 101). This shows that Leigh Anne cares about Michael and supports him and makes sure he is okay. This shows that Leigh Anne truly thinks of him as a son. The text also says “There was a new force in Michael Oher’s life: a woman paying extremely close attention to him who had an eye for detail, a nose for detail, and the will of a storm trooper,”(Lewis, page 150). This describes Leigh Anne’s effort she puts in to protect Michael. She makes sure every detail of his life is perfect, and makes sure nothing bad will ever happen to him.

The book The Blind Side is full of love. In the text it says “ ‘When I moved in with Leigh Anne and Sean, I felt loved,’ “(Lewis, page 150). This is important because Michael had never really felt loved by a family he was living with, not even when he was living with his own drug-addicted mother. Saying he felt loved isn’t something Michael took very lightly. The Tuohys must really care about Michael. Another piece of evidence is “ ‘I love him as if I birthed him’ she said,”(Lewis, page 146). This was said by Leigh Anne whenever people asked her about her relationship with Michael. Later in the book she got upset with a dear friend when she accusingly asked her if she really cared for him.

The Blind Side is bursting with support. The text says “Michael and Sean Junior would shut the door to Michael’s room for hours and compete: video games, miniature basketball, and whatever else they could find that leveled the playing field,”(Lewis, page 146). This proves that Michael and the Tuohy’s youngest son, Sean Junior, have created a friendship so strong that Michael would even offer to skip football practice to hang out with Sean Junior. The text also says “ He now called her ‘Mama’,”(Lewis, page 148). Michael doesn’t even call his own mom by any name except Ms. Oher; to call Leigh Anne Mama means that Michael loves Leigh Anne more than his actual mother.

All in all, amazing book, 5 stars. Great book of family and friendship. The Tuohys
welcomed this stranger into their home and it turned out to be one of the greatest decisions of their lives. The Tuohys become Michael’s “left tackle”, protecting him from anything that will blind side him. I recommend this book to anyone who will listen.
3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Eva Fernandez
5.0 out of 5 stars The book!
Reviewed in Canada on December 20, 2023
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My grandson loved it!
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Loren
5.0 out of 5 stars A superb story, and brilliant description of football history
Reviewed in France on August 2, 2021
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The makers of the movie based on this book did a great job of mining the emotional gold in the story, but this book offers mix more. If you love NFL football, this book is for you.
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Markus
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolut empfehlenswert!
Reviewed in Germany on November 1, 2018
Verified Purchase
Extrem empfehlenswert! Für Football-Interessierte ein Muss.

In Michael Lewis' Buch gibt es zwei Erzählstränge:
1) Die Entwicklung und zunehmende Bedeutung der Position des Left Tackles im Football. Mit Erzählungen von den 1980er Jahren nis Anfang 2000er wie sich das Spiel und v.a. die Position verändert hat.

2) Die Geschichte von Michael Oher, der es aus schwierigen Verhältnissen in Memphis nach ganz oben geschafft hat - mit Hilfe anderer, die an ihn glauben.

Beide Stränge ergänzen sich unglaublich gut. Da das Buch auf wahren Begebenheiten beruht (der Autor hat die Infos u.a. von den Darstellern selbst) und die Personen wirklich exisitieren habe ich mit des öfteren ertappt nachzuschauen, was mit den Charakteren passiert ist und was sie heute machen.

Habe es auf Englisch gelesen. Man muss ein bisschen reinkommen, aber man will nicht aufhören, sobald man drin ist. Beide Erzählstränge sind lebhaft, emotional und verständlich geschrieben.

Wie gesagt, für Football-Interessierte ein Muss. Doch allein die Geschichte von Big Mike ist es wert gelesen zu werden.
One person found this helpful
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Onom
5.0 out of 5 stars 2015年下半期のベスト候補筆頭
Reviewed in Japan on March 24, 2017
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これは面白かった。今年下半期のベスト候補筆頭。没頭しすぎて電車を乗り過ごしそうになったくらい。アメリカンフットボールのことはよく知らないけれど、ゲームの興奮、プレイヤーの恐怖、フィールドの熱気がビビッドに伝わってきてあらためてマイケル・ルイスの筆力は凄いなと感じさせられた。ある意味、現代英語の到達点の一つじゃないかな。
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Maria A. Mayor Civit
1.0 out of 5 stars Only for experts (deep experts) in American football.
Reviewed in Spain on June 27, 2016
Verified Purchase
A good book, even if I found it way too much technical for my taste. Chapters and chapters about technical details, the economic side of the game, etc. To a point that the story of Michael Oher is absolutely accesory, kind of something the author tells in between a technical and a financial report.
One person found this helpful
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