The Blind Side

• Genre: Nonfiction; narrative; sports journalism
• Originally Published: 2006
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 980L; college/adult
• Structure/Length: 12 chapters; approx. 352 pages; approx. 11 hours, 47 minutes on audio
• Central Concern: The author traces the story of Michael Oher, a young Black man from an impoverished background who has the physical gifts to be a successful left tackle protecting a quarterback’s blind side. Oher is helped by a wealthy white family involved with the small Evangelical Christian high school he attends.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Racial slurs; violence

Michael Lewis, Author

• Bio: Born in 1960 in New Orleans; earned his bachelor’s degree in art history from Princeton University and his master’s degree in economics from the London School of Economics; his early career on Wall Street inspired his first book, Liar’s Poker; has received several Gerald Loeb Awards for his magazine feature writing, much of which focuses on business and economics; his book The Blind Side was made into a feature film in 2009
• Other Works: Liar’s Poker (1989); Moneyball (2003); The Big Short (2010); The Undoing Project (2016); The Fifth Risk (2018); The Premonition (2021)
• Awards: Alex Award (2007); New York Times Notable Selection

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• The Complexity of Forces and Motives
• Nature Versus Nurture
• Institutional Racism