 "Thankful for Cullen's sharp writing and true empathy" | 2009-10-15 |
| - Reviewed By relevantgirl |
If you're after a truthful, well researched and compelling book about the Columbine tragedy, I highly recommend this book. Why?
* Dave Cullen did his research. He read hundreds of thousands of pages. He interviewed witnesses and law enforcement. He attended church services. He understood the community. He immersed himself.
* The book is compelling, a page turner. That's really hard to do with something so research-heavy.
* It debunks a lot of media-fueled myths about Columbine. The kids weren't bullied or loners. Some of the victims stories may not be true. There was a cover up about the sheriff's department's knowledge of Harris and Klebold's dangerous ways one year prior to the massacre.
* Dave Cullen has empathy. He doesn't appear detached. Though he refrains from naming himself, you can feel his love for the people throughout the book.
* He upholds heroes, but shares their foibles too. He paints a real picture of humanity amidst tragedy.
I don't know about you, but I feel exuberant after I read a well-crafted book. I savored this book, even though some of it was disturbing and painful to read. (Be warned, there are expletives). It made me worry about psychopaths. But at the same time, I felt a renewed vigor toward trying to love those who are mired in pain and hatred.
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 "Good Book, Faulty Logic" | 2009-10-14 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3E144GZOI7TFB |
It's difficult to review a book like this because there are two elements working here: the work as a serious piece of nonfiction and the arguments the author puts forth in trying to explain it all. The latter is where Mr. Cullen trips, I believe. Had he chosen to document the tragedy from a journalist's nonpartisan point of view, it might have been better received. The book is good--well-written and definitely a page-turner. My problem is with Mr. Cullen's use of the idea that Eric Harris was a psychopath to explain his actions.
Put simply: we don't know that he was a psychopath and never will know. Therefore any strict rule of impartiality must compel the writer to put forth this notion as a possibility rather than a firm conclusion, and if necessary to examine other possible roots. This is what a journalist does in the face of a lack of facts. Presenting an argument is one thing; presenting only one point of view is a flawed premise.
That said, I do disagree with some of Cullen's statements. I've watched some of the videos of Harris (particularly one shot in the cafeteria of CHS) and no way do I see a kid who is easy and comfortable with girls. I don't understand the language of his "having" a 23-year-old (I'm paraphrasing) and the question of whether he died a virgin. Which was it? The whole idea of his psychopathy seems too facile for me, and how does one explain Dylan? If you know anything at all about genetics, you understand that everything--eye and hair color, weight, even height--is only a predisposition towards something. It is never set in stone, and is always acted upon and influenced by one's development.
The other fact that struck me about the argument is that both of these kids were weeks away from graduation. After four years of whatever it was that fueled their rage, it was almost over for them. In fact, they waited out a patient year before deciding to schedule their massacre just before graduation. Isn't this something that should have been explored?
Overall, I think the responsibility of taking on a subject like this leaves anyone open to criticism, and I commend Mr. Cullen for taking the risk. I believe this is a very good book but not THE book; one absolutely must read further on the subject. And it is quite possible that the subject itself is too large for one book, for one perspective. Though I doubt that. Perhaps if Cullen had written a longer book exploring more than one explanation, or left out the explanation entirely and simply told the story as best he could, this would have been a better read. |
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| "Fascinating Read" | 2009-10-13 |
| - Reviewed By Anonymous |
I remember when the events at Columbine took place; I was in college, so the impact was lessened somewhat. Dave Cullen has done a superb job in clarifying many of the details & explaining the true events of the day. There was a ridiculous media-slant that said everyone in black trench coats was a disturbed killer. Mr. Cullen paints a very different, far more realistic portrait of the killers, illustrating the many times the events could have been stopped.
So why 4 stars & not 5? Dave Cullen does not tell the story in a linear fashion. I understand why; it's a more interesting read this way. However, there were times in which I found it very confusing & had to retrace my steps to figure out where I was in the history of the story. Regardless, this is a fascinating read about what it was really like at Columbine. |
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| "Best single source of information on Columbine that I have ever read...." | 2009-10-12 |
| - Reviewed By User: AR630GL5R02QQ |
| I personally have studied the tragedy that tragedy that took place at Columbine high school myself, and I have too say, that Dave Cullen hit it right on. Most of the information in the book I already knew, but it's the way he put it into perspective. I also liked how he actually told you who the killers where, he talked about them in a way where he just didnt label them as strictly "outcast". He explains Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold in a way that shows two troubled teenage boys, both on different paths, but meet at the same crossraod, masss murder. The book aslo goes beyond what the mdeia has ever. Dave Cullen actually goes inside the Columbine and Littleton Community, explaining how the community itself reacted and overcame the shooting. Actually talking too survivers and Parents of some of the victims. Also, I liked how he actually but a personal touch to the victims. I'm sure we all have seen the pictures, but in the end, there just a face. What Dave Cullen did was actually tell you about some of the victims,almost make you really feel the pain, and truelly realize how much of an effect Columbine really had, not only on a Cummunity, but the country as a whole. I reccomend this book too anyone who is truelly interested not only in the shooting itself, but in the real story, the human story behind Columbine. |
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| "A Must Read" | 2009-10-01 |
| - Reviewed By User: ATX8P7FFYI6C8 |
| Absolutely the best book I've read in years. Insightful, genuine and engrossing. This was such a big story when it happened, it's remarkable how misled the public was by the media. Dave Cullen takes you by the hand and leads you through this terrifying incident, opening doors to the real story and peering through the windows of the minds of the people who lived through it. Although the science of the crime scene is discussed, it is done in layman's terms and easily understood. This book will be a staple on my gift giving list until everyone I know has one. |
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| "Very good..." | 2009-09-28 |
| - Reviewed By nichols740 |
This is a harrowing account of the real story behind Columbine. I only knew broad strokes about this event before I read this. Dave Cullen methodically dispels many common myths about this event. For one, this was not a target killing, with jocks as the bulls-eye and bullied outcasts as marksmen. Instead the evidence points to a far more chilling conclusion: Eric Harris was a sociopath with "extinction fantasies" who dreamed of being one of a handful of people on earth. Rather than being bullied, he was a bully himself, leading one family to report him to the police over a dozen times. Dylan was the more benign of the two, a depressed teen who had wild fantasies about being saved by romantic love. The events of 4/20/99 were foreshadowed many times; Eric's dad kept spiral notebooks about his son's mental health problems. There was the aforementioned Brown family, who were terrified of Eric. And Eric confided in several people and posted his thoughts online.
There were additional myths that spread like wildfire. One was about a victim who died a martyr for professing her faith before she was shot. According to eyewitnesses, this never happened. It was also popularly debated that this was a crime about outsiders and a wicked social caste. According to Cullen, it was more the opposite: Eric Harris thought he was superior to just about everyone. Not exactly lacking in self-esteem, that one. (Dylan and the Klebold family come across more sympathetically.)
All in all, this is a riveting account that kept me reading all night. Partly because it's that good, and partly because I was terrified. |
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