Location : Cleveland, OH
Why?
A simple question but one with no real answer. A question which many people asked in the aftermath of that day, April 20, 1999, when two students opened fire on their fellow classmates at Columbine High School, killing 13 and injuring 24. The answer to "why?" was very elusive; one which some people may have simply shrugged off. I believe that the answer has been provided in Dave Cullen's outstanding book, Columbine. Exhaustively researched over the course of nearly ten years, Cullen provides an extremely balanced, very composed examination of the events leading up to, during, and after the Littleton, Colorado, tragedy. What the reader comes to realize is that everything you think that you might know about that day is probably wrong. Goths targeting jocks, the Trench Coat Mafia (TCM), bullying, outcasts, violent video games and angry, hard music were some of the answers we were presented but were entirely wrong.
Contents:
Author's Notes on Sources
I. Female Down
II. After and Before
III. The Downward Spiral
IV. Take Back the School
V. Judgement Day
Timeline: Before
Acknowledgements
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Cullen, drawing on tens of thousands of police documents, hundreds of hours of interviews, FBI profilers and psychologists, diaries and videos left by the killers themselves, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, paints the most complete portrait of the gunmen, the cover-ups and miscues of law enforcement, the role of the media, and a community torn apart. There are no easy, simple "sound bite" answers in Columbine. Cullen shows that Harris and Klebold did not simply "snap" at some bullying, they dealt more of it than they received, nor was it a plot to harm a specific group of students. This is was a carefully orchestrated event, planned over the course of a year, by a charming, manipulative psychopath (Harris) and a mercurial, clinically depressed individual (Klebold). While attempting to distance himself from Harris and his plans, at the end, Klebold found that he needed Harris to help him with his ultimate plan; suicide. For Klebold, April 20 provided the perfect setup for that result.
Tragedies like school shootings cause people to search for and accept easy answers for the shocking event. The media understands this and is quick to supply those answers, even when they are wrong. Cullen does not pull any punches when it comes to his fellow journalists and their distortions, but he is equally quick to point out the good reporters. Early in the event, it was reported that witnesses saw the shooters as wearing trench coats. One student offered the term "Trench Coat Mafia" to describe one clique. The media played that aspect up in their newscasts, which were seen later in the day by many of the survivors. The next day, during interviews, many of the students parroted back to the media "Trench Coat Mafia" which they had heard on all of the news outlets, even though that was an aspect that the media themselves had championed. Not one reporter asked "where did you hear that?" or "why do you say that?"
Dave Cullen was one of the first reporters on the scene and has been studying the event for ten years. Columbine comes across as a very authoritative work, due to Cullen's diligence and balance. It may strike you as odd that there are no pictures, maps, or scanned documents in the center of the book. After reading several chapters, you realize that Cullen does not want to be melodramatic or exploitive, graphics would only detract from his narrative. You are probably familiar with the results of Harris and Klebold's attack, but until you read this book, you will not know the full story. Columbine is an excellent book, one that has exceptional pacing, and uses an interesting, effective technique of moving back and forth through time. This provides an unparalleled look at the lives of Harris and Klebold, giving the reader a complete view of them. It also proves that there are no simple answers. Columbine is highly recommended.
Disclosure:
Obtained from: Gift
Payment: Free
Technorati tag: book review Dave Cullen Columbine
A simple question but one with no real answer. A question which many people asked in the aftermath of that day, April 20, 1999, when two students opened fire on their fellow classmates at Columbine High School, killing 13 and injuring 24. The answer to "why?" was very elusive; one which some people may have simply shrugged off. I believe that the answer has been provided in Dave Cullen's outstanding book, Columbine. Exhaustively researched over the course of nearly ten years, Cullen provides an extremely balanced, very composed examination of the events leading up to, during, and after the Littleton, Colorado, tragedy. What the reader comes to realize is that everything you think that you might know about that day is probably wrong. Goths targeting jocks, the Trench Coat Mafia (TCM), bullying, outcasts, violent video games and angry, hard music were some of the answers we were presented but were entirely wrong.
Contents:
Author's Notes on Sources
I. Female Down
II. After and Before
III. The Downward Spiral
IV. Take Back the School
V. Judgement Day
Timeline: Before
Acknowledgements
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Cullen, drawing on tens of thousands of police documents, hundreds of hours of interviews, FBI profilers and psychologists, diaries and videos left by the killers themselves, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, paints the most complete portrait of the gunmen, the cover-ups and miscues of law enforcement, the role of the media, and a community torn apart. There are no easy, simple "sound bite" answers in Columbine. Cullen shows that Harris and Klebold did not simply "snap" at some bullying, they dealt more of it than they received, nor was it a plot to harm a specific group of students. This is was a carefully orchestrated event, planned over the course of a year, by a charming, manipulative psychopath (Harris) and a mercurial, clinically depressed individual (Klebold). While attempting to distance himself from Harris and his plans, at the end, Klebold found that he needed Harris to help him with his ultimate plan; suicide. For Klebold, April 20 provided the perfect setup for that result.
Tragedies like school shootings cause people to search for and accept easy answers for the shocking event. The media understands this and is quick to supply those answers, even when they are wrong. Cullen does not pull any punches when it comes to his fellow journalists and their distortions, but he is equally quick to point out the good reporters. Early in the event, it was reported that witnesses saw the shooters as wearing trench coats. One student offered the term "Trench Coat Mafia" to describe one clique. The media played that aspect up in their newscasts, which were seen later in the day by many of the survivors. The next day, during interviews, many of the students parroted back to the media "Trench Coat Mafia" which they had heard on all of the news outlets, even though that was an aspect that the media themselves had championed. Not one reporter asked "where did you hear that?" or "why do you say that?"
Dave Cullen was one of the first reporters on the scene and has been studying the event for ten years. Columbine comes across as a very authoritative work, due to Cullen's diligence and balance. It may strike you as odd that there are no pictures, maps, or scanned documents in the center of the book. After reading several chapters, you realize that Cullen does not want to be melodramatic or exploitive, graphics would only detract from his narrative. You are probably familiar with the results of Harris and Klebold's attack, but until you read this book, you will not know the full story. Columbine is an excellent book, one that has exceptional pacing, and uses an interesting, effective technique of moving back and forth through time. This provides an unparalleled look at the lives of Harris and Klebold, giving the reader a complete view of them. It also proves that there are no simple answers. Columbine is highly recommended.
Disclosure:
Obtained from: Gift
Payment: Free
Technorati tag: book review Dave Cullen Columbine
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