Discount Priced Books for You.

Charles F. Jurgus:

I saw the author interviewed by Barry Kibrick on the local community college television station. They disgussed the issue of the prohibition against organizations cultivating young potential college-ball recruits with gifts and aid and ["perhaps"] whether this was the motivation in adopting a child from the inner city, it was left unclear, of course BECAUSE IT WOULD BE A MONSTROUS THING TO ADOPT A CHILD SPECIFICALLY TO SERVE YOUR ALMA-MATERS FOOTBALL TEAM!!! This issue is deftly dealt with as an unconfronted secondary matter which really doesn’t require that much attention–RIGHT!? This book delibrately avoids a hard look at a real manifestation of SLAVE CULTURE! The act itself renders secondary the childs life to a brief time on a college football team. It is saying that it is less important that a child has a history that is his own, that of his parents and grand parents, and not the history of the rich people who lived across town and were so proud of their third rate college team they just had to have a player–some kind of pet-mascot hybrid whose training program and life perspective and system of values can be molded in any way to suit that end enforcable by law–like a slave. Why? Because in their heart of hearts they believe in slavery. Like Milton Freidman says in “Capitalism and Freedom,” [Robinson Crusoe, without his man Friday is not free, because he must fend for his own survival.] It becomes clearer as your read what Freidman means by this… it isn’t the freedom of the wage earner that is of value protecting, nor those tied to a salary, or even the freedoms of those with a modicum of wealth, but those who’ve really created freedom like say in the tens and hundreds of millions of dollars, or even better, billions of dollars worth of wealth. What Freidman shares with most other economists in this regard is this… he chooses to empathize with those most likely to offer him a career and not those who comprise the bulk of humanity. Like this book, “The Blind Side,” which acknowldges social strife in the inner city just so far as it hinders a couple of ghoulish gnomes and the recruiting hinderances of their favorite college team! Screw this book, screw Michael Lewis and Barry Kibrick!
Rating: 1 / 5

Jet King:

This book, although well-written, absolutely turns my stomach. The Touhy’s should not be looked to for inspiration, and their “acts of kindness” have many ulterior motivations. Yes, Oher will have a brighter future because of the family, but let’s not overlook the cost. Leigh Anne is proud that she taught Michael that he should shop at “Tiffany’s”, and that this is a real life education, is a sad commentary on her twisted world view. Is Michael a toy, a sociology experiment, someone she can use to shock her Southern friends?? Sean is proud that Michael gets into his alma mater – yet, the kid can’t even read. Oh, that’s right, he got straight A’s by Sean’s manipulation of the system, gets declared learning disabled(what joy Sean must have felt), and this makes him qualified to play football . . . oops, I mean go to college. What if Michael wasn’t 6’5” and built to play the game? Would they take him in? What a disgrace this family is. Also, is this the “Christian way” of doing things?

The insight into the development of the left tackle is very interesting, on the other hand. Still, I couldn’t get around the distasteful family, with their false Christian values, ostentacious ways, and ulterior motives. And, mind you, Michael Lewis is a good friend of Sean Touhy’s, and likely gives an extremely biased view of them. I don’t plan of reading another of Lewis’ books again.
Rating: 3 / 5

Streak:

The title and description would have you believe that this book is about the evolution of the left tackle position in the NFL. There are a few insightful, informative chapters on this topic, but most of the pages are devoted to a human interest story about Michael Oher, a left tackle prospect currently playing college football at Ole Miss.

Michael Lewis spends twice as many chapters discussing Oher’s unique personality and childhood anecdotes than he does exploring the history of the left tackle position. A book titled “Blind Side: Evolution of a Game” makes you think that the central theme of this book would be about how and why left tackles became one of the highest paid positions in the NFL. But make no mistake, this book is about the story of Michael Oher’s life, and the “evolution of a game” takes a back seat.

Though Oher’s story is an unusual one, it is not something a sports fan like me finds particularly interesting. It is a shame, because I was fascinated when Lewis did get around to talking about Lawrence Taylor’s career-ending hit on Joe Theissman, Bill Walsh’s offensive strategy to neutralize blind side pass rushers, and the increased importance of left tackles in the NFL. Unfortunately, there were too few pages devoted to these kinds of football stories for me to have been satisfied with this book.
Rating: 2 / 5