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4.32 AVERAGE
4.32 AVERAGE
I wasn't really old enough to notice when Columbine happened so I wanted to read this book to get a proper look into it.
I'll start with the negative...I felt the afterward/epilogues were too long and they dragged on a bit when I was reading them. The second one especially. It was only a small annoyance but it came at the end of the book so I remember it more!
Overall though, this is an excellent book about the massacre, the killers, the victims, the families, and how it was treated by the news and the police. Cullen tells the story in parts and switches between "characters" throughout the book so we get a look at before and after. It's shocking how much chaos ensued during the massacre outside the building - the police had no real idea how to handle things and as a result a lot of misconceptions were spread around by the press as fact.
The involvement of the Evangelical community is interesting because they sort of take the blame off the killers and put it on Satan. Also, the story about Cassie and her apparent martyrdom.
The killers, Eric and Dylan, are presented as real people, instead of the outcast/goths/loners the press labelled them as. I thought the sections telling the massacre from their POV and the overwhelming failure of it (in their eyes) had a certain black comedy to it.
This book is not only about the massacre, it's about the aftermath and how the families of victims coped with what happened. The small divides comes through, such as who should get more compensation, someone with a murdered child or someone with a severely injured child with high medical bills? And, of course, the parents of the killers were mostly treated as completely separate from those of the victims.
A well researched and hopeful book about a horrific event.
I'll start with the negative...I felt the afterward/epilogues were too long and they dragged on a bit when I was reading them. The second one especially. It was only a small annoyance but it came at the end of the book so I remember it more!
Overall though, this is an excellent book about the massacre, the killers, the victims, the families, and how it was treated by the news and the police. Cullen tells the story in parts and switches between "characters" throughout the book so we get a look at before and after. It's shocking how much chaos ensued during the massacre outside the building - the police had no real idea how to handle things and as a result a lot of misconceptions were spread around by the press as fact.
The involvement of the Evangelical community is interesting because they sort of take the blame off the killers and put it on Satan. Also, the story about Cassie and her apparent martyrdom.
The killers, Eric and Dylan, are presented as real people, instead of the outcast/goths/loners the press labelled them as. I thought the sections telling the massacre from their POV and the overwhelming failure of it (in their eyes) had a certain black comedy to it.
This book is not only about the massacre, it's about the aftermath and how the families of victims coped with what happened. The small divides comes through, such as who should get more compensation, someone with a murdered child or someone with a severely injured child with high medical bills? And, of course, the parents of the killers were mostly treated as completely separate from those of the victims.
A well researched and hopeful book about a horrific event.
A revealing look at what really happened during the Columbine shootings. The author's writing is a bit uneven, especially when he's trying to channel Dylan or Eric, but overall, this is a book that everyone should read. It dismisses the stereotypes about Columbine - the trench coat mafia, the "goth" image, the idea that it was a targeted shooting, the Cassie Bernall martyrdom - and, in a systematic, well researched fashion, tells the truth about that day and the events that preceded and followed it.
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Odd that I felt drawn to this shortly after it’s 20th anniversary. This weaves a narrative much different than the one we are used to: a lonely, goth outcast who finds himself bullied by the more popular or well off students and suddenly snaps. No. This is a picture of humanity. This is two boys who would have blended in on any other day of the week, two boys that the media took advantage of for their own personal gain, two boys that were construed to be something they weren’t, all to paint a narrative that would make people feel better instead of make people understand the truth. School shootings have risen since this. People are inspired by this. How are we supposed to feel? How do we solve this? Can we even solve this without making an entire group of people feel isolated and alienated?
This is going to sit with me for a while.
This is going to sit with me for a while.
Dave Cullen looks at the Columbine Massacre from every possible angle a reader could want--and then some. From the media's exploitation/manipulation of the tragedy, to crash-courses in violent psychology, to story-like re-telling of the events from moment to moment, this book has everything. Depression, trauma, addiction, religious hysteria, martyr complex and more auxiliary issues are examined as well. It's an incredibly rich and detailed work. I'm of a generation that is desensitized to shootings--whenever I hear about one on the news, I think "oh, another one?" Books like this are increasingly important in a time where once-unbelievable massacres become increasingly mundane.
Because Cullen's analysis looks at the shooting from so many angles, odds are that most readers will be riveted at some sections, and a bit bored at others. Personally, the parts that gripped me the most were the parts covering the Basement Tapes and other mementos of the planning stage for the massacre, but I struggled with the sections about the complex legal battles that came about after the dust settled. But I have to respect the thorough research and commitment that went into putting this together, from the headline-catching harrowing scenes of the massacre to the nuts-and-bolts minutiae in between. Cullen also tackles every toxic myth that came about as a result of bad journalism and small-town gossip, which I have a lot of respect for. His look into Columbine is well-worth a read for anyone with even a passing interest in the subject.
Because Cullen's analysis looks at the shooting from so many angles, odds are that most readers will be riveted at some sections, and a bit bored at others. Personally, the parts that gripped me the most were the parts covering the Basement Tapes and other mementos of the planning stage for the massacre, but I struggled with the sections about the complex legal battles that came about after the dust settled. But I have to respect the thorough research and commitment that went into putting this together, from the headline-catching harrowing scenes of the massacre to the nuts-and-bolts minutiae in between. Cullen also tackles every toxic myth that came about as a result of bad journalism and small-town gossip, which I have a lot of respect for. His look into Columbine is well-worth a read for anyone with even a passing interest in the subject.
So visceral, it reads like a horror story - very well written but I can’t read anymore 💔
An examination of the Columbine High shooting that explains but does not excuse the shooters. Without polemics it examines the gun culture and the role it played in the shooting.
medium-paced
The book seems to have done a good job telling the story and uncovering evidence that was not made clear after the first few years of the tragedy. I’m only giving it a 3.5 though because true crime is not a genre I much enjoy.
Wow. So many misconceptions that were broadcast in the media regarding this event. Insightful reporting.
**4.5**
A really well-researched recount of events from the Columbine high school tragedy of 20/04/1999.
I particularly really enjoyed the research done into the psyche's of the attackers and the response of the survivors over the longer term.
A really well-researched recount of events from the Columbine high school tragedy of 20/04/1999.
I particularly really enjoyed the research done into the psyche's of the attackers and the response of the survivors over the longer term.