Columbine

by Dave Cullen

**THE GROUNDBREAKING BESTSELLER AND CLASSIC**

'Excellent . . . amazing how much still comes as a surprise' New York Times Book Review

'Like Capote's In Cold Blood, this tour de force gets below the who and the what of a horrifying incident to lay bare the devastating why' People

'A staggering work of journalism' Washington Post

'The tragedies keep coming. As we reel from the latest horror...' So begins the epilogue, illustrating how Columbine has become the template for nearly two decades of "spectacle murders." It makes the imperative to understand the crime that sparked this flame more urgent than ever.

What really happened on April 20th, 1999? The horror left an indelible stamp on the American psyche, but most of what we thought we knew was wrong. It wasn't about jocks, Goths or the Trench Coast Mafia. Dave Cullen was one of the first reporters on the scene, and he spent ten years on this book, the definitive account. With a keen investigative eye and psychological acumen, he draws on mountains of evidence, insight from the world's leading forensic psychologists , and the killers' own words and drawings - several reproduced in a new appendix. Cullen paints raw portraits of two polar opposite killers. They contrast starkly with the flashes of resilience and redemption among the survivors.

• ISBN10: 0446552216
• ISBN13: 9780446552219
• Publish Date: 6 April 2009 (first published 1 March 2009)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Twelve
• Format: eBook
• Language: English

Reviews

[cornerfolds]

Read more of my reviews at Cornerfolds.com!

*Review to come!*

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

[thebookdisciple]

Well rounded and very interesting. Avoided telling the story from any 1 perspective and gives much more detail/info than what you can find in the news.

[Whitney @ First Impressions Reviews]

On April 20, 1999 Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold went to school not with the goal of passing that days Math test but to blow up Columbine High School and leave a lasting impression on the world.

Columbine has since become synonymous with school shootings, the expression needs no definition, and unfortunately leaves a lasting impression, Eric and Dylan's goal.

Like most historic events or tragedies you can remember where you were and what you were doing. (i.e.9/11) Anyway, I was only fourteen at the time so don't remember exactly that but have a very vivid memory just a few weeks afterward. I was in 8th grade and a boy a class behind mine brought two walkie talkies to school, which were promptly confiscated. Somehow, it snowballed that said student was bringing a gun to school on Tuesday and would shoot anyone wearing the color green. Tuesday came with a large number of the student body surprisingly in attendance. I recall a large pile of book bags at the front entrance and lots of police and bomb sniffing dogs. Tuesday came and went. Nothing happened. It was all a rumor. If Rockwood Valley had panic it could not even have been a tenth to what Columbine experienced.

The novel Columbine, has been hailed as the "In Cold Blood" of this generation, like Capote, Cullen had the reader connect or feel empathic towards Dylan and Eric, I know that might sound strange considering their actions but somehow, despite their wrong-doings made the killers into real people and not the psychopaths that they were. I also liked that the author flashed back and forth between the day of the massacre and then to its aftermath. He also addresses some rumors or bogus "urban legends" if you will, such as the trench coat mafia or one of the victims professing her devotion to God before her death. Columbine is not for everyone, it is disturbing, unbelievable and even though Dave Cullen maps out the 5Ws (&H) it still leaves you stun.

[empressbrooke]

Certainly not a PLEASANT read, but an important one, nonetheless. The author does an excellent job debunking everything that we "know" about Columbine - although it appears that most people connected with the event knew from nearly the beginning that the killers weren't bullied Goths who snapped and targeted jocks, the media at large grabbed onto that idea and ran with it.

[Eve1972]

I am not sure how to review this book and do it justice. The author who covered the Columbine Shootings from day one has created what in my opinion is THE definitive account of the tragic events surrounding the shootings. This was often times a difficult book to read, I had to lay it down more then a few time because I was crying to hard to continue reading. The author has obviously done his research and done it well, including debunking many of the myths which have grown up around the case over the years. A compelling, intelligent and difficult read, if you only read one book on Columbine, this should definitely be the one!