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4.32 AVERAGE
4.32 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
I had to quit reading. It was too long and repetitive and I did not like the writing structure. It kept going back and forth between before and after so quickly I felt like I was getting whiplash and it was hard to keep up. It felt like I was reading a textbook, DNF at 46%
It's been 10 years since Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold planned and executed a massive attack at Columbine High School outside of Colorado. At the time, I paid only minimal attention to the media surrounding the event, focusing on what my local teens needed instead, and on the reactions of teens on Slashdot. I admit to being quick to jump to conclusions about poor parenting and bullying/the social hierachy of modern day education (that I recalled unfondly from my own recent secondary school years).
Cullen's details of events leading up to and following Columbine reveal Harris as a psychopath and Klebold as an angry and impressionable depressive who showed many signs of the path they were on that adults who cared about them missed - or CAUGHT, but were dismissed by the boys themselves, who were expert at deflecting and concealing.
This book was very hard to read straight through. I had to keep putting it down. In spite, I found it mind-bending and utterly engrossing. The engaging storytelling, backed up by facts, makes this a five star book. I appreciated the meticulous research, and the author's extensive notes to document. I think Cullen dealt with a difficult subject admirably. He chronicles the timeline of the event, and biographizes the killers as well as the principals, investigators, and several of the murdered and injured students. He takes to task many people, including the media he was part of, religious leaders, administrators who didn't react, and local police. He concludes with some of the good that came out of this tragedy: local legislation, changes in how armed gunman with hostages are responded to by law enforcement, more awareness of signs of troubled youth.
Images are sorely lacking, but Cullen's vivid descriptions make up in part for the lack of illustrations. This is a must read for anyone who works with youth.
Cullen's details of events leading up to and following Columbine reveal Harris as a psychopath and Klebold as an angry and impressionable depressive who showed many signs of the path they were on that adults who cared about them missed - or CAUGHT, but were dismissed by the boys themselves, who were expert at deflecting and concealing.
This book was very hard to read straight through. I had to keep putting it down. In spite, I found it mind-bending and utterly engrossing. The engaging storytelling, backed up by facts, makes this a five star book. I appreciated the meticulous research, and the author's extensive notes to document. I think Cullen dealt with a difficult subject admirably. He chronicles the timeline of the event, and biographizes the killers as well as the principals, investigators, and several of the murdered and injured students. He takes to task many people, including the media he was part of, religious leaders, administrators who didn't react, and local police. He concludes with some of the good that came out of this tragedy: local legislation, changes in how armed gunman with hostages are responded to by law enforcement, more awareness of signs of troubled youth.
Images are sorely lacking, but Cullen's vivid descriptions make up in part for the lack of illustrations. This is a must read for anyone who works with youth.
This was a great book. I felt that the author was very respectful of facts and all the people that were effected by the shooting. It gives a good background as to what happened leading up to that fateful day. I definately recommend this book!
I wouldn't rank this book up there with Cold Blood, but it's a chilling read all the same. Reading about Eric Harris made me think of that old line about the "banality of evil." Dylan Klebold emerges as more sympathetic, perhaps a child who can have been saved. The character of Littleton, Colorado itself also fascinated me, as this deeply evangelical conservative community struggles to deal with unimaginable tragedy. The mythologizing of Cassie Bernall is just one heart-breaking example of the stories people invented to try and make sense of these events. Cullen shares Truman Capote's grand narrative vision but has his own smooth, journalistic writing style. This is an enthralling read.
I’m glad a book about this event finally did an objective deep dive into the entire scope of the shooting. And the author did not let Dylan Klebold off the hook, like so many media have done in excusing him as a follower. He helped plan this tragedy. I also appreciate that the author outlined the ways that these men and their white privilege were what led us there. So many signs and covered up records could have saved lives that day. And the fact that DK’s mother insists on centering her son’s suicide and not his murderous behavior is despicable. Years ago, I remember looking into AFSP’s financials after doing a lot of work with them in college and I noticed she donates like five figures to the organization...along with her memoir, she has tried to position herself as the mother of a young man who took his own life, not that of a cold-blooded murderer who laughed and delighted in shooting four people and killing them.
In this book, Cullen doesn’t let her off the hook either. She has spent a lot of the past 20 years trying to claim she is a survivor of suicide loss as if that overshadows her son’s murders. She has even said that it bothers her that the media focuses more on his actions as a killer than on his status as a victim of bullying or a troubled boy with a mental illness. Dylan Klebold is not a victim.
I loved the ways that this delved into so much of the stuff that the media got really wrong—from the Cassie Bernall / Val Schnurr story, to Coach Sanders, Dan Rohrbough, the NRA, and the evangelism of Colorado’s citizenry and its impact on the outcomes.
In this book, Cullen doesn’t let her off the hook either. She has spent a lot of the past 20 years trying to claim she is a survivor of suicide loss as if that overshadows her son’s murders. She has even said that it bothers her that the media focuses more on his actions as a killer than on his status as a victim of bullying or a troubled boy with a mental illness. Dylan Klebold is not a victim.
I loved the ways that this delved into so much of the stuff that the media got really wrong—from the Cassie Bernall / Val Schnurr story, to Coach Sanders, Dan Rohrbough, the NRA, and the evangelism of Colorado’s citizenry and its impact on the outcomes.
Thoughtful and riveting..could not put it down. Resonates every there is another school shooting.
The shootings at Columbine, or any school shooting for that matter, is not a subject I'm normally interested in, but Columbine was recommended by a friend whose book suggestions I trust. And I'm very happy I read it; I can't imagine there's a better, more thought provoking, account of the tragedy, suburban American life, or study of young psychopaths in modern society.
This one really messed me up. I was expecting it to, but not this badly.