Columbine

My experience has always been that when you know what actually took place personally, you can see how much the newspapers got wrong. Even eyewitnesses start to believe the media over their own experience. Cullen cuts through the stories that even now are widely believed--because people want to believe them--because it confirms their view of the world--and gives us the painstakingly researched facts.

My only objection is that he buys too much of the official story told by mental health professionals about psychopathy. Since that's treated as "science" it's understandable that he'd accept it as such but I don't believe psychopaths are as different from the rest of us as is claimed. I think it's more of a spectrum. Eric Harris even claims that it took him some effort to be merciless. He wasn't unfeeling--he chose to be and made the effort. We prefer to think he's different than us because we're afraid to find traces of psychopathy in ourselves. We prefer to see him as completely alien.

This book is definitely a must-read. The only pity, in a manner of speaking, is that it took as long as it did to come out and reveal the truth about the events at Columbine High School. The author does an excellent job of digging deeply into the various sources-- subjects interviewed, police and other expert reports, press coverage, etc.-- to give an accurate and very chilling picture of what really happened at Columbine and how it happened. The book also provides the answer that eluded people for a long time: why did Harris and Klebold do what they did.

This book will move you at times. It may make you angry at times, and it will engage you as a reader. The book is not only a look at the events and an analysis, but it is also a very well written narrative that can be read a bit like a thriller. It is very well researched, and readers will find extensive endnotes as well as good bibliography at the end of the book for those wanting to do further reading or verify some of the arguments and ideas presented in the book. The book also presents a very dramatic human story. There is tragedy, but there is also deceit. For example, the local police engaged in serious efforts to cover up various items and facts, and a certain memoir embraced by evangelicals is pretty much based on a myth (and they knew it but chose to go to press anyways). There is neglect in various stages that may lead readers to consider (I would say fairly accurately) that the tragedy could have been stopped; Harris and Klebold had previous contacts with law enforcement that were not paid serious attention for instance.

Overall, this may well become a definitive book on the topic, and it should be required reading in schools of education. It does illustrate the idea that it can indeed happen anywhere, and it shatters the usual stereotypes (some goth kid going on a spree, revenge on jocks, etc.). This is a book I highly recommend but be prepared to be challenged. Be ready to learn a new thing or two, and be prepared to reflect and consider how such events can be prevented in the future.