This is a very readable story about the tragedy at Columbine High School in 1999. It took almost 10 years to write and it shows through meticulous research and many, many interviews with students, parents, newspaper writers, law enforcement, etc. I was so happy to see Mr. Cullen shred the wild hypothesizes of Goths, jocks, bullying, and the Trench Coat Mafia. While reading the book, be sure to keep a place in the Notes section (at the back of the book); the author explains some of his reasoning or expounds further on a fact. Eventually, I read the chapter Notes before reading the chapter, it just seemed to make things clearer from the beginning.
While talking about Eric Harris' pathological behavior, Cullen made the most enlightening statement, "Eric was an injustice collector." (p. 256) Every time someone was unkind to him or treated him in a negative way, Eric saved up the memory and knew he would get revenge for that injustice.
After the Columbine tragedy, everyone seemed to be looking at the parents of the two murderers. What did they know and when did they know it? How could they be clueless about such an atrocity? Cullen was careful in how he addressed the situation. He mentions that when both boys got in trouble with the law, both parents of each child came to court and to apply for the Diversion program (to avoid felony sentencing). He also mentions that both mothers wrote letters to each of the dead children's families and to the injured. Because both sets of parents stayed out of the limelight, this book was an important addition to understanding those parents' thoughts. The author shares some of the conversations between the parents (Eric and Dylan's parents) and the individual parents (of deceased children) they met with over the years.
Dave Cullen discussed every aspect of the case that I could imagine. He even raked over the coals the TV stations for their 24/7 repetition of shootings. He said that Anderson Cooper has taken to only mentioning the shooter(s) once and emphasizing the victims. Cullen asks the other anchors to do the same thing. One of the most interesting (and undoubtedly true) conclusions was made by Mark Juergensmeyer, who called Columbine "performance violence." Eric and Dylan created the spectacle murder. Spectacle murder is all about TV. Do not miss the Epilogue; it is the culmination of all the ideas brought up in the book.
Because the author talked briefly about many of the deceased and injured, I found myself going to www.AColumbineSite.com to find out more about each individual physically wounded/killed by the Columbine shooters. That's how I found out that Lauren Townsend (one of the 13 victims) was to have been valedictorian in the May graduation. I also wondered how the students finished the year; it is explained on that website.
COLUMBINE won an incredible number of awards, including the Edgar Allan Poe Award, Barnes & Noble's Discover Award and the Goodreads Choice Award. It was declared the Top Education Book of 2009 and one of the best books of the decade by the American School Board Journal. After reading this book, I agree heartily.
While talking about Eric Harris' pathological behavior, Cullen made the most enlightening statement, "Eric was an injustice collector." (p. 256) Every time someone was unkind to him or treated him in a negative way, Eric saved up the memory and knew he would get revenge for that injustice.
After the Columbine tragedy, everyone seemed to be looking at the parents of the two murderers. What did they know and when did they know it? How could they be clueless about such an atrocity? Cullen was careful in how he addressed the situation. He mentions that when both boys got in trouble with the law, both parents of each child came to court and to apply for the Diversion program (to avoid felony sentencing). He also mentions that both mothers wrote letters to each of the dead children's families and to the injured. Because both sets of parents stayed out of the limelight, this book was an important addition to understanding those parents' thoughts. The author shares some of the conversations between the parents (Eric and Dylan's parents) and the individual parents (of deceased children) they met with over the years.
Dave Cullen discussed every aspect of the case that I could imagine. He even raked over the coals the TV stations for their 24/7 repetition of shootings. He said that Anderson Cooper has taken to only mentioning the shooter(s) once and emphasizing the victims. Cullen asks the other anchors to do the same thing. One of the most interesting (and undoubtedly true) conclusions was made by Mark Juergensmeyer, who called Columbine "performance violence." Eric and Dylan created the spectacle murder. Spectacle murder is all about TV. Do not miss the Epilogue; it is the culmination of all the ideas brought up in the book.
Because the author talked briefly about many of the deceased and injured, I found myself going to www.AColumbineSite.com to find out more about each individual physically wounded/killed by the Columbine shooters. That's how I found out that Lauren Townsend (one of the 13 victims) was to have been valedictorian in the May graduation. I also wondered how the students finished the year; it is explained on that website.
COLUMBINE won an incredible number of awards, including the Edgar Allan Poe Award, Barnes & Noble's Discover Award and the Goodreads Choice Award. It was declared the Top Education Book of 2009 and one of the best books of the decade by the American School Board Journal. After reading this book, I agree heartily.
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