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4.32 AVERAGE
4.32 AVERAGE
Heartbreaking by the very nature of the subject matter. But so interesting without a doubt (in a really backwards way).
I didn’t know much about the Columbine murders, but the level of detail in this was very insightful and the personal touch from the author’s own experience of being there as a reporter added to that.
I didn’t know much about the Columbine murders, but the level of detail in this was very insightful and the personal touch from the author’s own experience of being there as a reporter added to that.
I didn't even know this book was out there until last weekend, when a friend told me about it. I picked it up and read it in two days. This book takes you through every detail of the horrible massacre that transpired at Columbine High School in 1999. It debunks the myths - many of which I thought were truths until I found out otherwise here - and it takes you through the entire tragic story, beginning to end.
I was surprised at how fast the book gets to the actual shooting; it happens within the first quarter of the book in a step by step recounting of what happened and then it lays out every detail as students, parents, faculty and law enforcement officials piece together everything that happened and try to figure out what made Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold do such a heinous act. This is not easy reading, it is VERY disturbing as it goes into graphic detail of every aspect that happened on that fateful day. From the earliest thoughts that Eric and Dylan had about killing, through the healing process that the community was still struggling to come to terms with ten years after it took place, this book covers everything and is sure to be read and talked about for years to come. It's a sad and depressing read, but if you want to know the true and real story behind this tragedy, then look no further than this book.
I was surprised at how fast the book gets to the actual shooting; it happens within the first quarter of the book in a step by step recounting of what happened and then it lays out every detail as students, parents, faculty and law enforcement officials piece together everything that happened and try to figure out what made Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold do such a heinous act. This is not easy reading, it is VERY disturbing as it goes into graphic detail of every aspect that happened on that fateful day. From the earliest thoughts that Eric and Dylan had about killing, through the healing process that the community was still struggling to come to terms with ten years after it took place, this book covers everything and is sure to be read and talked about for years to come. It's a sad and depressing read, but if you want to know the true and real story behind this tragedy, then look no further than this book.
Very well written and informative. There was a lot of information about the shootings that we never heard sour and that were never covered by the media. However, I thought it got a little repetitive at times. And the subject matter makes it hard to read at times. Took me awhile to get through it.
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Pretty in depth bout the event, reporting, and effect on people 10 years later. Well written and engaging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Mass/school shootings
Moderate: Bullying, Mental illness
A very hard subject but interesting read. I remember this well as I was a teenager in high school. It's nice to have all the pieces some what put together. And to see the out comes of so many lives touched by this tragedy. I recommend this book to anyone but especially parents. What an eye opener.
On May 21, 2022, I started reading this book about the (at the time) unimaginable tragedy that had occurred 23 years, one month, and one day earlier. On May 24, 2022, a shooting in Uvalde, Texas— one of hundreds of shooting events at schools that have occurred since Columbine— took the lives of nineteen students and two teachers, injured over a dozen others, and affected hundreds in the community.
The timing isn’t lost on me, and even before May 24th, the most impactful part of the book to me was the fact that nothing had changed. I hesitate to say shootings have gotten “worse” since Columbine— I don’t know how one would quantify “better” or “worse” when taking about these tragedies— although Columbine’s “record” has been broken several times. But as I read the book, it amazed me that everything the book described— the rage and hatred of life, the media voracity and hoaxes, the incompetence of police, the missed warning sign after warning sign— haven’t changed. They haven’t changed since 1999, nor have they changed since 2009, the year the book was published.
I’m dismayed but not shocked. Not surprised. I grew up in a post-Columbine world. I was coming home from my fourth grade dance at a small elementary school in Indiana on December 14, 2012– I begged my mom to let my best friend have a sleepover, and she informed me that something had happened and it was important we get her home as soon as possible, “so her parents know she’s safe”. On the way home she told me there had been a shooting, an attack on a school. Since then, I lived in endless ALICE drills and in fear that the attacks would hit closer to home.
I was one of 58 victims of the (town name) massacre— an attack that never happened, a month after Parkland. It was a drill. I was in the library, begging the librarian to barricade us, but she made us run. The police pointed at us each one by one and told us to lay down, that we were dead. We were taken to the cafeteria while the “survivors” resumed class. We were lectured to be more careful.
There were two substantiated shooting threats my senior year on my high school. There was also an angry boy one day, roaming the halls. Friends and even strangers to him reported he was angry, that he was troubled that day, that he needed help. But he hadn’t hurt anyone. So nothing happened. And he didn’t hurt anyone. He hurt himself. He punched through one of the lattice-wired “bulletproof” windows in a classroom door, destroying his hand. His blood dripped down the hallway as he was escorted out. I still have the pictures. Why did nobody do anything?
But enough about me. The book itself is incredibly informative, whether you’re a true crime enthusiast like me or a layman who’s only heard the media’s version of events. Even with its immense detail, it’s incredibly gripping. The author largely sticks to facts of the case; whenever he does include theories, for example the theory that Eric may have been a psychopath, he cites professionals on the topic, people close to the case who have studied it since the beginning. Eric and Dylan sympathizers (ugh, don’t get me started) seem to hate this book, but I can’t see why. It strikes a perfect balance of “humanizing” the killers— they had hobbies, they laughed, Dylan was in love, they were someone’s brothers and sons— while also displaying the barbarity of their actions and the ruthlessness of their original plan.
It’s a hard read. I wanted to fly through it, consumed by the story, but I had to put it down sometimes just to process. But it’s a great read, and a necessary one. I hope that one day this book will no longer be so timely and relevant. But it seems like it will be forever.
The timing isn’t lost on me, and even before May 24th, the most impactful part of the book to me was the fact that nothing had changed. I hesitate to say shootings have gotten “worse” since Columbine— I don’t know how one would quantify “better” or “worse” when taking about these tragedies— although Columbine’s “record” has been broken several times. But as I read the book, it amazed me that everything the book described— the rage and hatred of life, the media voracity and hoaxes, the incompetence of police, the missed warning sign after warning sign— haven’t changed. They haven’t changed since 1999, nor have they changed since 2009, the year the book was published.
I’m dismayed but not shocked. Not surprised. I grew up in a post-Columbine world. I was coming home from my fourth grade dance at a small elementary school in Indiana on December 14, 2012– I begged my mom to let my best friend have a sleepover, and she informed me that something had happened and it was important we get her home as soon as possible, “so her parents know she’s safe”. On the way home she told me there had been a shooting, an attack on a school. Since then, I lived in endless ALICE drills and in fear that the attacks would hit closer to home.
I was one of 58 victims of the (town name) massacre— an attack that never happened, a month after Parkland. It was a drill. I was in the library, begging the librarian to barricade us, but she made us run. The police pointed at us each one by one and told us to lay down, that we were dead. We were taken to the cafeteria while the “survivors” resumed class. We were lectured to be more careful.
There were two substantiated shooting threats my senior year on my high school. There was also an angry boy one day, roaming the halls. Friends and even strangers to him reported he was angry, that he was troubled that day, that he needed help. But he hadn’t hurt anyone. So nothing happened. And he didn’t hurt anyone. He hurt himself. He punched through one of the lattice-wired “bulletproof” windows in a classroom door, destroying his hand. His blood dripped down the hallway as he was escorted out. I still have the pictures. Why did nobody do anything?
But enough about me. The book itself is incredibly informative, whether you’re a true crime enthusiast like me or a layman who’s only heard the media’s version of events. Even with its immense detail, it’s incredibly gripping. The author largely sticks to facts of the case; whenever he does include theories, for example the theory that Eric may have been a psychopath, he cites professionals on the topic, people close to the case who have studied it since the beginning. Eric and Dylan sympathizers (ugh, don’t get me started) seem to hate this book, but I can’t see why. It strikes a perfect balance of “humanizing” the killers— they had hobbies, they laughed, Dylan was in love, they were someone’s brothers and sons— while also displaying the barbarity of their actions and the ruthlessness of their original plan.
It’s a hard read. I wanted to fly through it, consumed by the story, but I had to put it down sometimes just to process. But it’s a great read, and a necessary one. I hope that one day this book will no longer be so timely and relevant. But it seems like it will be forever.
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense