Columbine

Dave Cullen

Apr 2009 · Sold by Twelve

About this ebook

Ten years in the works, a masterpiece of reportage, this is the definitive account of the Columbine massacre, its aftermath, and its significance, from the acclaimed journalist who followed the story from the outset.
"The tragedies keep coming. As we reel from the latest horror . . ."

So begins a new epilogue, illustrating how Columbine became the template for nearly two decades of "spectacle murders." It is a false script, seized upon by a generation of new killers. In the wake of Newtown, Aurora, and Virginia Tech, the imperative to understand the crime that sparked this plague grows more urgent every year.

What really happened April 20, 1999? The horror left an indelible stamp on the American psyche, but most of what we "know" is wrong. It wasn't about jocks, Goths, or the Trench Coat Mafia. Dave Cullen was one of the first reporters on scene, and spent ten years on this book-widely recognized as the definitive account. With a keen investigative eye and psychological acumen, he draws on mountains of evidence, insight from the world's leading forensic psychologists, and the killers' own words and drawings-several reproduced in a new appendix. Cullen paints raw portraits of two polar opposite killers. They contrast starkly with the flashes of resilience and redemption among the survivors.

Expanded with a New Epilogue

Ratings and reviews

why did i give it one star? because what you're hearing is false. some of the stuff he puts in is true, but doesn't correlate with the rest. for example, he said that eric wanted a date, and then it says he got all the chicks and dates? it also says he was invited to parties? according to the accurate movie zero hour, his diary says he was never invited to such parties and everything.. this book is trash, don't waste your time buying it.

I too followed and researched this tragedy. Dave Cullen, in an effort to assert himself as the foremost authority on Columbine, strays from sharing facts and tends to insert his pet theory into the narrative. The problem is that it's HIS THEORY- not fact. He doesn't address fully the outside influences and causes if they don't mesh with his personal take on Harris and Klebold. This is very thorough, but Jeff Katz wrote an amazing book on this topic that deserves far more attention.

This book was pretty thick for me but was easy to get through bc of the interesting subject matter. The author told things about Columbine and Eric & Dylan that I had never heard before. Some things will surprise you and just like the shock of what happened that day in Colorado this book will stay with you.

About the author

Dave Cullen is a journalist and author who has contributed to Slate, Salon, and the New York Times. He is considered the nation's foremost authority on the Columbine killers, and has also written extensively on Evangelical Christians, gays in the military, politics, and pop culture. A graduate of the MFA program at the University of Boulder, Cullen has won several writing awards, including a GLAAD Media Award, Society of Professional Journalism awards, and several Best of Salon citations.