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4.32 AVERAGE
4.32 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Everyone who lived through the aftermath of the Columbine shooting should read this. Debunks the popular myths to reveal the truth behind the attack: a psychopath focused on destruction and his depressed, suicidal lackey. Also reveals the police negligence wherein the attack could have been stopped but was not.
"Human memory can be erratic. We tend to record fragments: gunshots, explosions, trench coats, terror, sirens, screams. Images come back jumbled, but we crave coherence, so we trim them, adjust details, and assemble everything together in a story that makes sense."
Columbine is one of those books I've been wanting to read for quite some time now. I remember when Columbine happened and how much that changed school culture not only for my generation but for future generations as well. Eric and Dylan have, sadly, inspired many other mass shooters. Going back to Columbine and learning more about where Eric and Dylan got their ideas and how calculated their attack was both terrifying and interesting at the same time. It is clear with how this book was written and structured that author [a:Dave Cullen|1116816|Dave Cullen|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1544996699p2/1116816.jpg] spent a lot of time researching this book and all of the different pieces that both led up to the attacks on April 20, 1999, but he also spent a lot of time researching the after effects of this day and how the students, staff, family, and community were all changed because of the actions of Eric and Dylan.
Nonfiction books can often be really challenging for me, especially if I listen to them on audio. One thing I loved about the structure of this book was that for most of it, it alternated chapters between what Dylan and Eric were planning and a chapter of someone else involved in the Columbine tragedy. This helped break up the story for me into more manageable chunks that weren't so heavy on one side of the tragedy. You definitely want to be in the right frame of mind when reading this book because it is very heavy. As much as one can enjoy a story about a national tragedy, I did enjoy this story and how well researched it was. I will definitely read other books written by Cullen in the future.
TW: school shootings, murder, death, grief, violence, suicide, mental illness, bullying, death of a parent, racial slurs, sexual assault
Columbine is one of those books I've been wanting to read for quite some time now. I remember when Columbine happened and how much that changed school culture not only for my generation but for future generations as well. Eric and Dylan have, sadly, inspired many other mass shooters. Going back to Columbine and learning more about where Eric and Dylan got their ideas and how calculated their attack was both terrifying and interesting at the same time. It is clear with how this book was written and structured that author [a:Dave Cullen|1116816|Dave Cullen|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1544996699p2/1116816.jpg] spent a lot of time researching this book and all of the different pieces that both led up to the attacks on April 20, 1999, but he also spent a lot of time researching the after effects of this day and how the students, staff, family, and community were all changed because of the actions of Eric and Dylan.
Nonfiction books can often be really challenging for me, especially if I listen to them on audio. One thing I loved about the structure of this book was that for most of it, it alternated chapters between what Dylan and Eric were planning and a chapter of someone else involved in the Columbine tragedy. This helped break up the story for me into more manageable chunks that weren't so heavy on one side of the tragedy. You definitely want to be in the right frame of mind when reading this book because it is very heavy. As much as one can enjoy a story about a national tragedy, I did enjoy this story and how well researched it was. I will definitely read other books written by Cullen in the future.
TW: school shootings, murder, death, grief, violence, suicide, mental illness, bullying, death of a parent, racial slurs, sexual assault
The book: Columbine
The author: Dave Cullen, American journalist and author.
The subject: An extensive study of the Columbine High School shooting and its perpetrators, and what happened to the survivors.
Why I chose it: I'm interested in true crime and psychology. Maybe I'm also a bit morbidly fascinated by things like this.
The rating: Two and a half out of five stars
What I thought of it: I have mixed feelings towards this book. It was interesting, but made me feel completely voyeuristic (though that's obviously to be expected). I thought it seemed well-researched, but many other reviewers have disagreed with that. The writing style was interesting, and I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. I'm just not quite sure what to make of it.
Cullen was obviously dedicated to busting certain myths about Columbine and does this well. One aspect of the book that I really enjoyed was how it covered religion and the invasion of evangelicals after the shooting, taking advantage of the community's grief. Cullen also put a lot of effort into exonerating the killers' parents, who had the blame squarely focused on them and were even sued. At the same time, there was a lot of repetition and even some parts where the author seemed to contradict himself.
I feel, from reading some other evidence online, that Cullen underplayed the presence of bullying, not just by the killers, but aimed at them. Maybe this didn't push them over the edge as the media reported, but it still happened. The storyline jumped about constantly, which was effective in some ways and annoying in others. I know I have a linear sort of brain, but it was genuinely infuriating not to get a clear picture of certain events because you were swiftly moved to another bit of the story. Maybe that's meant to reflect the lack of information available at the time, but it does interfere. I think some carefully chosen pictures could have helped illuminate the text, including a map of the school. Perhaps they thought that would detract from the serious journalism aspect of things.
This book was compelling in some ways, so if you are interested in true crime then it might be worth a go. However, you have to be aware that the author has his own biases and, in a case like this, it can be hard to draw certain conclusions. Ultimately we just have to try and take whatever lessons we can from tragedies like this and try to ensure it doesn't happen again. That's been really successful so far...
Just one more thing: As a non-American, it seems utterly bizarre to me that there have barely been any moves towards gun control since Columbine or any of the other high-profile shootings (even Sandy Hook). The actions of the NRA just after the shooting were pretty unpleasant as well, so I'm not sure how they have so many supporters still. I'm sure plenty of Americans find it bizarre too, but obviously not enough to make a difference.
The author: Dave Cullen, American journalist and author.
The subject: An extensive study of the Columbine High School shooting and its perpetrators, and what happened to the survivors.
Why I chose it: I'm interested in true crime and psychology. Maybe I'm also a bit morbidly fascinated by things like this.
The rating: Two and a half out of five stars
What I thought of it: I have mixed feelings towards this book. It was interesting, but made me feel completely voyeuristic (though that's obviously to be expected). I thought it seemed well-researched, but many other reviewers have disagreed with that. The writing style was interesting, and I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. I'm just not quite sure what to make of it.
Cullen was obviously dedicated to busting certain myths about Columbine and does this well. One aspect of the book that I really enjoyed was how it covered religion and the invasion of evangelicals after the shooting, taking advantage of the community's grief. Cullen also put a lot of effort into exonerating the killers' parents, who had the blame squarely focused on them and were even sued. At the same time, there was a lot of repetition and even some parts where the author seemed to contradict himself.
I feel, from reading some other evidence online, that Cullen underplayed the presence of bullying, not just by the killers, but aimed at them. Maybe this didn't push them over the edge as the media reported, but it still happened. The storyline jumped about constantly, which was effective in some ways and annoying in others. I know I have a linear sort of brain, but it was genuinely infuriating not to get a clear picture of certain events because you were swiftly moved to another bit of the story. Maybe that's meant to reflect the lack of information available at the time, but it does interfere. I think some carefully chosen pictures could have helped illuminate the text, including a map of the school. Perhaps they thought that would detract from the serious journalism aspect of things.
This book was compelling in some ways, so if you are interested in true crime then it might be worth a go. However, you have to be aware that the author has his own biases and, in a case like this, it can be hard to draw certain conclusions. Ultimately we just have to try and take whatever lessons we can from tragedies like this and try to ensure it doesn't happen again. That's been really successful so far...
Just one more thing: As a non-American, it seems utterly bizarre to me that there have barely been any moves towards gun control since Columbine or any of the other high-profile shootings (even Sandy Hook). The actions of the NRA just after the shooting were pretty unpleasant as well, so I'm not sure how they have so many supporters still. I'm sure plenty of Americans find it bizarre too, but obviously not enough to make a difference.
A solid, seemingly well-researched* book about what happened before, during and after Columbine. If there's any complaint I have, it's the format: being broken into 3 parts, switching back and forth on the time line, and without an easily-picked-up on theme to tie together the chronologically spastic chapters. Because of this, it did take me a while to get into the groove of the book.
I've seen other reviewers complain that Cullen's answer to the "why" -- that Eric was a psychopath -- is too simple and unsatisfying. I agree that it is unsatisfying, but as for the too simple...well, as a psychologist-in-training myself, all I can say is, it's not Cullen's fault. The fact is, we just don't KNOW a lot about psychopathy, and we struggle with personality disorders in general. Personality disorders are infamous for: their resistance to treatment, and: (except one or two) their pervasiveness across time and context and the absolute lack of any solid cause or pattern. Psychopathy is certainly the poster child of this -- we simply have no idea why some people seem to be wired differently -- why they find reinforcing things that most of us wouldn't (or would, in fact, find punishing) and why they DON'T find punishing what most of us would. Cullen actually does an excellent idea of explaining what psychopaths are and aren't, and what most are like (ie, not killers). I will be the first to admit that I went into this book with trepidation, because I rarely see a layman explain psychological phenomena with even the bare minimum of correctness, but Cullen nailed it.
This is a difficult book to read, but if you are in the mental health field, it's also a disturbingly captivating read.
*I say "seemingly" because I have been trained never to take things at face value, and I do not know enough about first hand accounts to say whether or not Cullen's conclusions are accurate. However, he does well explaining the few things I do know about, and that bodes well for me trusting the rest of his book.
I've seen other reviewers complain that Cullen's answer to the "why" -- that Eric was a psychopath -- is too simple and unsatisfying. I agree that it is unsatisfying, but as for the too simple...well, as a psychologist-in-training myself, all I can say is, it's not Cullen's fault. The fact is, we just don't KNOW a lot about psychopathy, and we struggle with personality disorders in general. Personality disorders are infamous for: their resistance to treatment, and: (except one or two) their pervasiveness across time and context and the absolute lack of any solid cause or pattern. Psychopathy is certainly the poster child of this -- we simply have no idea why some people seem to be wired differently -- why they find reinforcing things that most of us wouldn't (or would, in fact, find punishing) and why they DON'T find punishing what most of us would. Cullen actually does an excellent idea of explaining what psychopaths are and aren't, and what most are like (ie, not killers). I will be the first to admit that I went into this book with trepidation, because I rarely see a layman explain psychological phenomena with even the bare minimum of correctness, but Cullen nailed it.
This is a difficult book to read, but if you are in the mental health field, it's also a disturbingly captivating read.
*I say "seemingly" because I have been trained never to take things at face value, and I do not know enough about first hand accounts to say whether or not Cullen's conclusions are accurate. However, he does well explaining the few things I do know about, and that bodes well for me trusting the rest of his book.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
medium-paced
An incredibly compelling read in understanding the depths of the mind of the killers and their spiral into the event that would captivate the nation for decades. As a gun violence survivor, I found it fascinating, and important in my own healing and understanding of the mindset that created the person who tried to murder me.
Reads like a documentary and pulls you in, makes you gasp at times, shudder at others, and grieve with the victims and families of those lost through the entire book.
Reads like a documentary and pulls you in, makes you gasp at times, shudder at others, and grieve with the victims and families of those lost through the entire book.
An in depth and complete look at the Columbine school shooting from all perspectives. Investigates the killers lives, mindset and intentions; the victims and their families in the aftermath as well as the role the police and media played. The most complete book of its kind.
challenging
dark
hopeful
slow-paced