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The Blind Side

Evolution of a Game

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About this listen

 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 thirteen 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.©2006 Michael Lewis; (P)2006 Books on Tape Football (American) Parenting & Families Personal Development Personal Success Relationships Sports Sports History Game

Critic reviews

“[Lewis] is advancing a new genre of journalism.” — George F. Will (New York Times Book Review)

“?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.” — Wes Lukowsky (Booklist)
All stars
Most relevant
I came to this knowing nothing about American football, so the in depth and very detailed talk about players and techniques on the football field initially seemed a turn-off. But the narrator has a great voice and sounds patient as he explains it and before you knew I feel confident talking about AF and I got so much more out of the central Michael Orr story from knowing the background. It's a brilliant book, brilliantly read and I strongly recommend it!

Even better than the film.

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Downloaded this audio book after watching the film (again!) and not disappointed. I'm not a TV sports fan, religious or any kind of god botherer and haven't a clue about American Football. Stick with the football and then just smile and enjoy.

Brilliant even if you haven't a clue about the NFL

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I liked everything about the book it was so amazing and i loved the characters and the story

Everything

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We really tried with this book and gave it a fair go having very much enjoyed others by Michael Lewis. But the level of details, descriptions of game play and tactics regarding American football makes it rather dull for those who know nothing about the game, i.e. most people outside the US. The sections about Michael Oher are interesting and meant we kept listening, but we did give up in the end.

Impenetrable for those who know nothing about NFL

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What disappointed you about The Blind Side?

The non NFL reader will find the first two chapters labourious

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Better when it got going.

Slow start

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