Columbine in Q&A with Dave Cullen

May 31, 2009 Dave Cullen added it · (Review from the author) · review of another edition

I wrote the book, so I'll forego rating it, just thought it should show up my list so you would find me. (But I'm new to goodreads, so tell me if I'm going about it all wrong.) Thanks. ...more

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Jun 07, 2011 Elizabeth rated it really liked it

I have been eyeing this book to read for a long time. Did I really want to explore this topic? Did I want to revisit April of 1999? I was preparing to graduate from highschool when "Columbine" happened, 13 years is a long time and I figured it was long enough so I decided to go ahead and give the book a shot.

I was concerned that it would be over dramatized, over violent, and would add fuel to the already paranoid world of school shootings. I wondered about the author, was he writing a story to s ...more

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Apr 20, 2009 Joanne rated it it was amazing

Shelves: nonfiction

This book is a riveting description of the Columbine school shootings. It debunks many of the myths that the media disseminated, such as bullying/Goths/Trench Coat Mafia/jocks being the cause of the massacre. The book explores the underlying causes, specifically the mental illnesses of the boys, and reveals that the boys intended to kill hundreds or thousands more if their plans had succeeded. It is a heartbreaking read.

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Apr 12, 2009 Christian rated it it was amazing

Shelves: informational-text

Someone recently said to me they were worried that books like this gave the murderers what they wanted, to still be talked about after their crimes and deaths. I need to disagree. I do not think this book in any way glorifies what they did or who they were. Instead it gives a startling insight into why.

While I think a lot of the myths surrounding the events of April 20, 1999 had already been shattered for me before I read this account, the book is powerful and important nonetheless. The author d ...more

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May 06, 2009 Laura rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audiobooks, books-to-re-read

This is an amazing and horrifying book that not only gives an account of the massacre at Columbine High School in '99 but the onset and the aftermath as well. Cullen reported on the tragedy the day of the shooting, but it's taken him nine years to research and compile this book, which is thorough, dispels many myths, and brings to light information that has only recently been released.

I listened to this audio-book, though I want to re-read it in "actual" book format. Cullen doesn't approach the This is an amazing and horrifying book that not only gives an account of the massacre at Columbine High School in '99 but the onset and the aftermath as well. Cullen reported on the tragedy the day of the shooting, but it's taken him nine years to research and compile this book, which is thorough, dispels many myths, and brings to light information that has only recently been released.

I listened to this audio-book, though I want to re-read it in "actual" book format. Cullen doesn't approach the story chronologically and this organization was, at first, frustrating and difficult to tell when he was switching between times and characters; however, once I got to know the ten or so characters he was focusing on, it was much easier, and about a quarter of the way through reading the book I was thankful he organized it that way. It was hard enough--emotionally--to listen to the shot-by-shot account of the massacre, but I don't think I'd have been able to listen to it at all if it had been built up to for seven or thirteen hours and then came at the middle or the end (another reason I want to read the hard copy is so that I can clarify some timeline questions I have but skip some of the more gruesome sections). Also, by breaking up the massacre into bits and splicing them among stories about the planning leading up to the event and the survivors and community dealing with the aftermath, Cullen's story is much richer and I got a very full sense of each character and of the school and community themselves.

Cullen's writing is both poetic and objective. He uses the third person when writing about the media throughout the book, and it feels well removed. Too much--or any--first person would have made it feel overly sentimental and perhaps exploitative. There are still questions left unanswered, but I feel like I've got a handle on what happened and why it happened, which is some small sort of consolation.

This took me a very long time to get through because of the subject matter. It's a tremendously difficult book to read, but it's something that I feel everyone should read. ...more

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Apr 21, 2009 Joe rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

This is the best book of true crime that I have read since "Devil's Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three." While Mara Leveritt set out to investigate the truth of guilt, Dave Cullen sets out to ask the age old question: Why? The answers will surprise you. Cullen fairly and sympathetically debunks all of the myths that surrounded this tragedy and outlines all that led up to that day and all that followed. How and what I will not say. I will only say that he graphically describes the car ...more

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Jun 08, 2009 Sue Monaghan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: all-time-favorites

Great book! Best thing I have read in a year. Has kept me thinking for weeks.

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Jun 25, 2009 Chelsa rated it it was amazing

This is a powerful book. Dave Cullen tells the truths of the Columbine school shootings...and it is not pretty nor is it what we heard from the media for the past 10 years. As a teacher, I found this book a necessity to read to understand warning signs and for the educational insights. As a human being, I found it necessary to read to understand others dealing with tragic situations. It is heartbreak and horrifying.

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Jul 07, 2009 Bob Lake rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-on-kindle

Doubtless the definitive review of the Columbine evidence!

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Apr 01, 2009 Alanna rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, true-story, own, tracy-borrowed

What a fantastic job of researching and writing about this tragedy. He cleared up so many misconceptions that I had and I think are still out there today. I hope that schools, media, and police departments will read this book and learn from the mistakes that were made before and after the shootings. I would also recommend this to parents. My son was in high school at the time and I was and still am greatly affected by this tragic event. My sympathies and prayers go out to all the victims and the ...more

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Apr 20, 2009 Chad rated it really liked it

Shelves: recent-history

This is an intense book. It describes a horrific event, and the view into the minds and lives of the killers is disturbing. But I appreciate finally knowing a much more complete picture of what happened, understanding a little better why it happened, and learning about some of the truly heroic people involved from the principal to the coach who was killed to the victims who have successfully dealt with great adversity.

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Jun 15, 2009 Amy rated it it was amazing

Amazing, amazing, amazing. Read it. The best book I've read in a while, both in content and style. Read it. ...more

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Jun 17, 2009 Martha Burns rated it it was amazing

That being a parent can be heartbreaking - that having compassion for the parents of the shooters at Columbine is possible. I learned that well written and well researched non-fiction is art.

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