Ten years in the works, Columbine is a masterpiece of reportage. Dave Cullen, the acclaimed journalist who followed the massacre from day one, reconstructs the psychological journey of two teenage boys who became killers. Over the course of this gripping narrative, Cullen approaches his subjects with unrivaled care and insight. What emerges are shattering portraits of the killers, the victims, and the community that suffered one of the most socially and historically important shooting tragedies of the twentieth century.
Colorado journalist Dave Cullen's meticulous research dispels the myths and hasty assumptions surrounding the 1999 Columbine High School shootings. Cullen's conclusions are drawn from hundreds of interviews and the wealth of information left behind by shooters Harris and Klebold. Apparently, Columbine was a painstakingly planned bombing gone wrong. Only when the bombs failed to detonate did the shooting begin. Don Leslie's nuanced reading of the disturbing material makes clear that the boys were not goths, gay, or bullied. Leslie is mesmerizing as he makes Cullen's case that Harris was predisposed to psychopathy and Klebold was erratic, depressed, and suicidal. Once they got together, the dyad became deadly. If this important book were fiction, it would be devastating. Knowing it really happened is heartbreaking. S.J.H. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine
Ron Rosenbaum, author of Explaining Hitler....
Dave Cullen is the Dante of this high school hell. I came away from it thinking of Jack Nicholson hollering You want the truth? You can't handle the truth! Read this quietly powerful account of Columbine and find out if you can.
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, Colorado, he has won several writing awards.
