Not the best book I've read by Michael Lewis, but I loved the story. The book definitely opened my eyes to some of the less Hollywood friendly aspects of the family and school's background in Memphis. ( )

New Favorite Author

This doesn't happen often but Michael Lewis has just been added to my very short list of authors who I TRY to read EVERYTHING they ever write! (Ayn Rand, Irving Stone, Trevanian, Shakespeare - so many with just a few books, so many with so many! LOL! Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Soseki Natsume, Lafcadio Hearn, Oscar Wilde) - I can't keep up! But several are worthy of short-listing!

This was a fascinating, multi-faceted glimpse into the socioeconomics of the intersection of our high school and college educational system and football - and the perhaps unfair whispers of white savior complex. It was also an interesting character study on how a foster child's survival instincts can shape a personality. ( )

Not quite sure what I think of this book. Love the movie, but not overly addicted to sports stories. There are times when this is told like a great story, but there are other times when it seems put together like many magazine articles---some of which maybe aren't exactly related. The chapters that jumped around in time and subject were somewhat off-putting to me. Overall - ok, not as good as the movie. ( )

Michael Oher is homeless due to his mother's drug use. The Touhy family takes him in and eventually adopts him. He is behind in his academic skills and the family provides tutors. He goes on to college and becomes a member of the NFL. ( )

This book is truly one of the best books i have ever read. Watching the movie first, i had the impression the characters in the book would be the same. Shocked that it was not, Michael Lewis gave me a better understanding of who the characters really were. The main charcter Michael, learns his way through life with a fearless attitude. Although he grew up on a bad note, being intrigued by drugs and having the absense of a true family, his independant self does not let that stop who he really is. Taken in by a white family who is exact opposite as Michael, the readers are able to see the value in what family connections really mean. Although he was not excel in school, he found his passion through football. Michael Lewis teaches many readers an important lesson. No matter what you are going through, push through it and find yourself, just like Michael did with football. Although this book has many valuable lessons, the only thing i was dissapointed in is how Michael Lewis focuses more attention on the game of football, rather than the story of Michael and his family. I would reccomend to anyone who is interested in sports as well. ( )