Book Cover

There’s an instant before it collapses into some generally agreed-upon fact when a life, like a football play, is all conjecture and fragments and partial views. Everyone wants to know the whole truth but no one possesses it. But Michael Oher already had collapsed into a generally agreed-upon fact: he was a success.

Past Michael Lewis reviews:

• Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World
• The Fifth Risk: Undoing Democracy
• Liar's Poker
• Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt

# Review

In this book, Michael Lewis explores two stories in parallel. The first story pertains to the evolution of American football, namely how the arrival of Lawrence Taylor, one of the greatest linebackers in the league, skyrocketed the importance of protecting the quarterback’s blind side and thus the importance of the left tackle. The second story follows Michael Oher, a high school student who comes from the worst part of Memphis but is adopted by an upper-class family and eventually succeeds in football.

I’m wary of Michael Lewis’ books after Flashboys, where Lewis does no research and takes everything from his (biased) sources at face value. I do get that vibe from this book too, where the Touhys, the family which “adopted” Oher, is portrayed in a strictly positive light as white saviours. Despite this, I believe this book is more fact than fiction as all the evidence tends to back Lewis’ narrative of an impoverished Michael Oher from the “Hurt Village” housing development finding success after being taken in by the Tuohys into their white and wealthy world. Oher’s story is as touching as it is heartwarming. I also like how Lewis does research into the socioeconomic situation within Hurt Village, and how others, some as athletically gifted as Michael Oher, did not make it out.

Lewis is clearly a scholar of American football as he provides great details on how the sport evolved. He gives people who aren’t familiar with the history of football (such as myself) great context on how and why the game developed. I greatly enjoyed reading about legends such as Bill Walsh, who pioneered the West Coast offense that emphasizes passing over running. I also enjoyed reading about the evolution of the left tackle position, from one of relative unimportance to one of the most important positions on the field; Lewis also offers brief biographies on various left tackles. Finally, Lewis offers great insight about amateur football, such as Tom Lemming’s Prep Football Report which gives analysis on the top high school football recruits across the country.

# Conclusion

A well-written book exploring football and the story of Michael Oher, a heartwarming tale.

# Overall rating: 8.1

What does the rating mean?