Recent Read: Columbine

Columbine by Dave Cullen was a big impact book. I remembered the basics of Columbine, but I didn't realize how many of things I remembered were actually false and how little I actually knew. Yes there were two teenagers who went around their high school shooting people. But no, the shooters were not outcasts, neither were they members of the trench coat mafia, neither did they target anyone specifically. And it wasn't so much a shooting as a failed bombing. How chilling is it that what we saw unfold on television was what happened when the killers' bombs didn't go off and they didn't have a plan B?

This is a book not only of the events as they actually happened (as opposed to the numerous myths and misinformation widely circulated by the media), it delves into the intentions, histories and psyches of the killers, the community of Columbine and how they reacted and recuperated, the role of the media, the actions of law enforcement both during and after the attack, and even some psychology to explain Eric Harris's psychopathy. As far as I can tell, it's meticulously researched, and Cullen's writing makes for an engrossing, fascinating and vibrant read. It's difficult and disturbing and tragic at times, but there are bright spots among the sadness.