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4.32 AVERAGE
4.32 AVERAGE
Really well-written, if a little too long. Dispelled a lot of myths.
I found this to be a compelling and engrossing read. Cullen's research was conducted over the decade following the Columbine massacre, and was meticulously vetted. This book dispelled a lot of myths that the media spread immediately after the fact, which was one of Cullen's goals as he felt that he was among the journalists that aided in the publication of the misinformation. Perhaps my interest in the story was particularly strong given that this was one of the largest and most publicized tragedies to occur to my generation, but I found the book difficult to put down, and really appreciated the attention to detail.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
It got repetitive to me. I did learn more about the killers and the media that I didn't know, but after awhile it seemed like the explanations were just repeating themselves. It got very uninteresting by the middle of the book.
challenging
dark
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
This was done so well. Cullen found the sweet spot between reporting and sensationalizing. I really appreciated his analysis of each person affected by Columbine, as well as the community.
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Cullen provides marvelous insights into the minds and lives of all the people involved in and directly affected by the Columbine massacre.
Some of the most fascinating items from the book:
(1) The killers, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, were not being bullied; in fact, they were, in many ways, themselves bullies.
(2) Eric and Dylan did not belong to some weird gang called the Trench Coat Mafia; they were not Satanists or Nazis or dabblers in the occult; they were not inspired to kill by Marilyn Manson or violent video games.
(3) Cassie Bernall was never asked by Dylan if she believed in God before she was shot. Dylan simply banged on the table under which she was hiding, shouted "peek-a-boo," looked under the table, and shot Cassie; she died without any exchange between her and Dylan about God. The myth arose because after shooting, but not killing, another girl, Val Schnurr; after she was shot, Val started praying aloud that she didn't want to die; Dylan heard her and asked if she still believed in God, and Val said that she did, but Dylan didn't shoot her again and she lived. One of the other surviving victims, a friend of Cassie's, wrongly came to believe that the exchange between Dylan and Val was an exchange between Dylan and Cassie; two witnesses who were hiding next to Cassie confirmed that Cassie was never asked about God before she was murdered.
(4) Eric and Dylan were not outcasts or misfits; both were very smart, though their grades did not always reflect this, and they both had other friends and even dated.
(5) Eric and Dylan did not specific target any group of students (not jocks, not preppies, not religious students). They simply killed at random.
(6) Eric and Dylan had originally planned the massacre for April 19, which had significance for them because it was the anniversary of both the tragic end to the Branch Davidian stand-off in Waco, Texas, and the Murrah Federal Building bombing in Oklahoma City. However, they ran into some logistical problems and had to push the massacre back to April 20.
(7) Eric's journals, interviews with his friends, law enforcement records on Eric's pre-massacre criminal activities, and the video recordings that Eric made all indicate that Eric was literally a psychopath.
(8) Dylan was suicidal and severely depressed. In fact, Dylan was planning to commit suicide and almost certainly would not have participated in the massacre were it not for Eric's powers of persuasion. The entire idea for the massacre was Eric's.
(9) Had all the bombs that Eric and Dylan had planted successfully detonated (none of them did, though), at least 500 students would have been killed in the Columbine cafeteria, and the bombs that the boys planted in their cars would probably have killed dozens of others.
(10) Cullen produces fairly good evidence that Eric and Dylan's parents were actually pretty good parents and probably could not have done anything to prevent the massacre.
There is much, much more of interest in this book; it was completely and utterly engrossing. I highly recommend it.
Some of the most fascinating items from the book:
(1) The killers, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, were not being bullied; in fact, they were, in many ways, themselves bullies.
(2) Eric and Dylan did not belong to some weird gang called the Trench Coat Mafia; they were not Satanists or Nazis or dabblers in the occult; they were not inspired to kill by Marilyn Manson or violent video games.
(3) Cassie Bernall was never asked by Dylan if she believed in God before she was shot. Dylan simply banged on the table under which she was hiding, shouted "peek-a-boo," looked under the table, and shot Cassie; she died without any exchange between her and Dylan about God. The myth arose because after shooting, but not killing, another girl, Val Schnurr; after she was shot, Val started praying aloud that she didn't want to die; Dylan heard her and asked if she still believed in God, and Val said that she did, but Dylan didn't shoot her again and she lived. One of the other surviving victims, a friend of Cassie's, wrongly came to believe that the exchange between Dylan and Val was an exchange between Dylan and Cassie; two witnesses who were hiding next to Cassie confirmed that Cassie was never asked about God before she was murdered.
(4) Eric and Dylan were not outcasts or misfits; both were very smart, though their grades did not always reflect this, and they both had other friends and even dated.
(5) Eric and Dylan did not specific target any group of students (not jocks, not preppies, not religious students). They simply killed at random.
(6) Eric and Dylan had originally planned the massacre for April 19, which had significance for them because it was the anniversary of both the tragic end to the Branch Davidian stand-off in Waco, Texas, and the Murrah Federal Building bombing in Oklahoma City. However, they ran into some logistical problems and had to push the massacre back to April 20.
(7) Eric's journals, interviews with his friends, law enforcement records on Eric's pre-massacre criminal activities, and the video recordings that Eric made all indicate that Eric was literally a psychopath.
(8) Dylan was suicidal and severely depressed. In fact, Dylan was planning to commit suicide and almost certainly would not have participated in the massacre were it not for Eric's powers of persuasion. The entire idea for the massacre was Eric's.
(9) Had all the bombs that Eric and Dylan had planted successfully detonated (none of them did, though), at least 500 students would have been killed in the Columbine cafeteria, and the bombs that the boys planted in their cars would probably have killed dozens of others.
(10) Cullen produces fairly good evidence that Eric and Dylan's parents were actually pretty good parents and probably could not have done anything to prevent the massacre.
There is much, much more of interest in this book; it was completely and utterly engrossing. I highly recommend it.
dark
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
Without a doubt one of the best books, in any genre and on any subject, I have ever read.