COLUMBINE
Dave Cullen
Twelve
Contemporary American History
ISBN: 9780446546935
It has been 10 years since “Columbine” came to mean “massacre” in the American psyche. Instead of conjuring the delicate blue flowers, the word is synonymous with a particular kind of violence: massive and seemingly random. In his account of the infamous and horrific school shootings, journalist Dave Cullen unpacks the event, including the mental health and history of the killers, their planned rampage, the responses of the community and survivors, and the truths and lies published by the media.
The Columbine massacre, perpetuated by high school seniors Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, took place on April 20, 1999, just days after the prom. Thirteen were killed, many others seriously injured; in the end, Harris and Klebold took their own lives, sitting next to each other against the school's library stacks. The violence played out, almost in real time, over the country's airwaves. But, almost immediately, the media (and the disoriented, traumatized victims themselves) got several things wrong. Consequently, by the end of the day, the incident was blamed on bullying and the “Goth” scene, on the killer's hatred for jocks and much more. In this excellent work of investigative nonfiction, Cullen sets about to demystify the event itself and the motives of the two boys.
Despite the persistent rumors, Harris and Klebold were not members of the Goth clique called the Trench Coat Mafia, they were not picked on and they didn't have a deep-seated hatred for jocks or Christians. In fact, they had friends, dated girls, played sports, were intelligent and successful students, and held jobs. Still, they were, as Cullen demonstrates with much care and objectivity, mentally ill. Because they both kept journals and made diary-like video recordings of themselves, we can examine their descent into criminal activity fueled by depression (Klebold) and psychopathy (Harris). The records they left behind are chilling and heartbreaking, and go far in explaining why they chose the destructive and suicidal path they did.
Cullen does not just focus on Harris and Klebold, who, like Leopold and Loeb, fanned the flames of each other’s illness and encouraged criminal activity and violence in each other. He also deals with the victims and survivors, the issues the community faced, and the police and FBI responses and investigations. The school principal, a popular teacher shot down, the activist parents, those who came to forgive and those who responded in anger --- all have a voice in these pages.
The author captures well the tension surrounding the Columbine massacre: the tension boiling over inside the calculating and murderous Harris and the suicidal and lovestruck Klebold; the tension inside the school that terrifying morning and outside as parents, friends and family could only wait until it ended; the tension of law enforcement unclear as to what they were dealing with or how to proceed; and the tension that swept the country as it feared for its children and also feared the children themselves.
Cullen could've gone deeper in exploring the mindset and diagnoses of Harris and Klebold, and towards the end the pace slackens and almost drags in parts. Still, COLUMBINE is a fantastic and frightening exploration of this terrible moment in American history. Cullen is a sensitive guide but manages to make the book compelling. The decision not to include the usual section of photographs was a wise one. Though we know what happens, the book is a page turner because the details have never been illuminated in such a concise, frank and well-written manner. COLUMBINE is sure to become the definitive non-legal record of the Columbine tragedy, and it is worthy of that distinction.
--- Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman
Click here now to buy this book from Amazon.com.
© Copyright 1996-2010, Bookreporter.com. All rights reserved.
