Columbine by Dave Cullen

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The shooting spree at Columbine ten years ago was one of the most horrific things I had ever seen. Kids shooting kids; ohmigod, words fail me. Since then, there's been a lot of copycats, from Virginia Tech to the shootings of Amish schoolgirls; and that doesn't even consider all the school shootings that have taken place overseas. I shudder to think of it. But I've always have been interested in what motivates people, what makes people do what they do, so when this book became available at my library, I snatched it up at once! It took me two weeks to get through it as my schedule has been rather frantic, but it was thoroughly researched, and written in such an understandable manner, that I hated to have to put it down to attend other things. So, here at last is my review; I hope it might convince a few of you to read this excellent book.

Dave Cullen was one of the first reporters at Columbine in 1999, and he explodes the myths that surround the school shooting at Columbine ten years ago. Based on ten years of research, Cullen left no stone unturned to learn what made two teenage boys go on the killing rampage at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999 that left 13 dead. Immediately after the massacre, theories abounded about what could have driven Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold to kill. These assumptions included: they had been bullied, they were Goth outcasts, were part of the Trench Coat Mafia and they targeted jocks. It had gotten too much for them and they snapped. Nothing could be further from the truth. Eric and Dylan were smart and relatively popular, and seemed like normal high school kids. But once you looked closer, they weren’t. After looking at their journals, notebooks and the videotapes the boys had made, as well as 25,000 pages of documentation from the investigation, he was able to determine that the shooting, instead of being an act of revenge, had been deliberately planned for almost a year. Eric and Dylan had written up their plans of attack, set up timelines, carefully assembled and tested bombs, and purchased firearms beforehand. Both boys were aggressive, but expressed it in different ways. Dylan focused his aggression inward, and became a tortured depressive. Perhaps bi-polar, he was up one day and down the next. He wanted to die and he saw the planned shooting on April 20th as his path to suicide. Eric was very different; outwardly calm and collected, he was a manipulative psychopath; able to fool people by appearing remorseful or agreeable, even charming if he needed to be, but with no empathy for anyone. Dylan, Eric’s disciple, fed off of Eric’s hatred and anger, and basically did whatever Eric wanted. Cullen also looks at why the police, their parents and the schools all missed or ignored warning signs about Eric and Dylan. Eric had been in trouble on several occasions and had made serious threats against another boy. In addition, his website on which he ranted about how much he hated people, and reported on “missions” that him and Dylan went on to destroy property or explode bombs. A concerned citizen reported the website to police and an officer looked at it, and then wrote up a report almost two years before the Columbine incident. The report was sent to his superior and filed. No action was taken. If the police had monitored the website they would have learned of Eric’s plan; total human extinction. This was a bit grandiose on Eric’s part, but he posted “…I don’t care if I live or die in the shootout, all I want to do is kill and injure as many of you …as I can!” Teachers were alarmed when Eric and Dylan turned in graphically violent papers. Their parents, although suspicious, believed Eric and Dylan when they told them that they had mended their ways. One of the sad things about an event like this is how others will take advantage of the situation. Evangelical preachers, for instance, blatantly capitalized on the shock and grief from the shooting to recruit new members and increase the size of their congregations. They also promulgated an inspiring story about the profession of faith by a victim before she was shot, even though it wasn’t true. School shootings have become ever more common. Numerous incidents have occurred since Columbine. After each one, an investigation is done, gun laws are looked at, school security is tightened. But another shooting always occurs. Cullen delivers a consummately level and even handed account of the massacre in Littleton, Colorado. Perhaps lessons can be learned from his analysis of the perpetuators, lessons that can be utilized to prevent another such occurrence.