Written by Michael Lewis, The Blind Side contains two separate stories. One details the trials and tribulations of a young black teenager named Michael Oher. The other details the evolution of the position Michael will ultimately play in the game of football. The left tackle position, as Lewis describes it, is one of the most important in the entire sport, for the person fulfilling this role is responsible for protecting the quarterback's "blind side."

Only by convincing readers of the importance of this position on the field is Lewis able to demonstrate the significance of this single young boy. Michael Oher, although he has never played a single down in the NFL, is widely considered possibly the best left tackle in the country. As such, he is also expected to be a high draft pick in 2009 when he graduates from the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss).

Yet Michael Oher is no ordinary football prodigy. A product of one of the poorest zip codes in the country, Oher grows up in federal housing projects, foster homes, and any other place where he can find a spot on which to lay his substantial head. Oher's father is absent, and his mother is addicted to drugs. At six-feet-five inches tall and weighing approximately 350 pounds, Michael Oher is a freak of nature. He is incredibly strong and fast.

A gentleman named Big Tony takes Michael under his wing and tries to get him enrolled in one of East Memphis's prestigious private and predominantly white Christian schools. Unfortunately, Michael's school transcripts are terrible. Michael misses as many classes as he attends, and appears to be functioning at a grade level far below where he should be. Nevertheless, the administrators eventually agree to accept Michael and try to help him get through high school. Big Tony points to Michael's athletic abilities as further incentive to give the boy a much-needed opportunity to change his future.

After Michael begins to acclimate himself to his new school environment, it becomes clear that the boy's home and family situation is still greatly lacking. A rich white family takes the boy in as one of its own. When Michael begins to demonstrate his unique potential as one of the greatest left tackles the country's ever seen, college coaches around the nation also take sudden interest.

In The Blind Side, Michael Lewis relates the story of an unusual social experiment. Michael Oher's success in his new school, with his new, rich, white family, raises some inevitable questions. Would he have been given the same chance to succeed in school, and indeed in life, if he did not display such athletic prowess? Should all young people in Michael's situation be afforded the same opportunities? How many lives could be changed? Is it fair for an academic underachiever like Michael to use loopholes in admissions processes attend college and possibly begin an incredibly lucrative career based solely on his athletic ability? Is he receiving special treatment that is truly unfair to others? Should children with similar gifts in areas like music and art also be singled out for special attention? Author Michael Lewis begins a debate that is not new, but is now fueled by new and intriguing questions.