From the Bookshelf of Pop Sugar's Annual Ultimate Reading Challenge…

Columbine

Dave Cullen

Start date: January 1, 2018

Finish date: January 8, 2018

Discussion: List brainstorming

Why we're reading this: True Crime
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Dec 22, 2012 Amy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, kindle

After the Sandy Hook shooting, I found this book on goodreads & it had amazing reviews so I picked it up. I'm so glad I did because it really put a lot if things into perspective about how/why these shootings take place & who does them. What I found the most surprising (especially in the Columbine situation, & I'm sure it'll be the same in Sandy Hook), is that a lot of information is not shared with the general public & might not be for many years to come. This is important because the media & p After the Sandy Hook shooting, I found this book on goodreads & it had amazing reviews so I picked it up. I'm so glad I did because it really put a lot if things into perspective about how/why these shootings take place & who does them. What I found the most surprising (especially in the Columbine situation, & I'm sure it'll be the same in Sandy Hook), is that a lot of information is not shared with the general public & might not be for many years to come. This is important because the media & public then tend to think the perpetrators must be "crazy" (because what same person would do such a thing?) & instantly jump on the bandwagon of blame (parents!) and question how can we stop [these people in] future shootings? Additionally, it goes into great depths of how Columbine was a actually a failed bomb attack (multiple times over) and not intended as a shooting at all. It was a straight up terrorist attack, planned for the the anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing, but delayed by a day.

What the general population should actually realize is that it's done for so many reasons & truly there really is no one way to categorize "these people" (other than males) who commit the crime. At Columbine, Dylan Klebold suffered from severe depression & suicidal thoughts. Depression would probably have never lead him to kill others at his high school had it not been combined with the fact he was best friends with a classic psychopath, Eric Harris, who was both brilliant & lacked any emotion & was dead set on destroying the world around him. This is vastly different than why Seung-Hui Cho (assailant in the Virginia Tech shootings) committed the crime, most likely the result of schizophrenia.

The book also reflects on the situation both Dylan & Eric's parents must have gone through after the crime. They were & still are, held accountable for their children's actions. After reading the book, I came away thinking that wasn't really fair because if in the particular circumstance that a psychopath was involved, there is literally NO course of action that can stop the person from acting as a psychopath would act. I guess you could figuratively (or actually) tie them down or put them in an institution, but in reality, that doesn't really work either since the vast majority never actually cause violent crimes. So why should they be institutionalized only because they suffer from a mental illness that doesn't really affect others & is very difficult to diagnose since a psychopath is extremely good at deception.

Since its difficult & almost impossible to predict who would so these crimes & stop them from occurring before they happen (other than those who leave trails & clues), that only leads me to think that gun laws should be drastically changed. I'm not a proponent necessarily of the right to bear arms, but legally speaking, it will be SO difficult to take away one of our fundamental bill of rights, which has never been done before. So if you want to be realistic, gun law as need to tighten & make the purchase of guns virtually impossible to do.

Two incidents in the Columbine saga stick out to me and are perfect examples in the problems with gun regulation in the US. First, the loophole which requires gun dealers to do background checks on purchasers, does not mandate a private dealer (a vast majority - around 80% of gun sales) to do the same. In fact, after that law was passed, most gun dealers went private rather than comply. Therefore, at gun shows, anyone can purchase a gun without a background check. Second, known criminals of serious crimes, or crimes associated with guns, should not be allowed to purchase guns or ammunition at all.

During the Columbine shootings, Eric & Dylan were able to get 4 guns by having an 18-year-old friend purchase the guns at a gun show, without a background check, in cash and with guns that did not have serial numbers since they were too old (that should be changed too - all guns have serial numbers, regardless of age!). The guns were blatantly for Eric & Dylan, who handed the money to the dealer, and who were the ones to negotiate the deal on an earlier date. Their friend (who knew nothing of their intentions) was there strictly for a legality of the situation. After the shootings, Colorado closed this loophole within their state, but the national government failed to do so. At the time of the books publication, the loophole was still open. Will Sandy Hook change that? Why is this even an issue? Why shouldn't everyone have to go through a vigorous background check to determine eligibility of a gun? Everyone has to do that to drive, do certain jobs, etc. Eric & Dylan also managed to get ammunition for their shootings for a known drug dealer in the Columbine area. Why are people with criminal convictions allowed to even buy ammunition!??! It makes no sense to me!

So its this is a long winded review, but I really felt like writing it out to get my thoughts organized on the whole issue - since its a major politic shit-storm about to happen this new year and one that I'd like to be relatively knowledgeable discussing.

Things have got to change.

And I would highly recommend the book. ...more

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Jul 19, 2009 Erin rated it really liked it

A very interesting read, especially after just having finished "The Hour I first Believed." This book was fascinating. A quote from chapter 28 really sums up the book: "We remember Columbine as a pair of outcast Goths from the Trench Coat Mafia snapping and tearing through their high school hunting down jocks to settle a long-running feud. Almost none of that happened."

The author really leaves no stone unturned, both with what happened before and after Columbine. And he weaves the two stories ( ...more

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Sep 20, 2009 Nancy rated it it was amazing

Most of what we know and think about the incident--and aftermath--at Columbine High School, in 1999, is wrong. That's the first big aha! in this book. The other is that some people behaved admirably and with great compassion, kindness and sensitivity in unraveling what really happened and protecting the kids and community. And a handful of people moved to cover their own rears, or take advantage of a tragic event. Cullen's book does a good job of connecting lots of dots, weaving a whole cloth st ...more

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Aug 24, 2013 Ms. Jared rated it really liked it

Well written, informative, and interesting. I learned a lot when I thought I already knew everything there was to know about Columbine after years of media saturation. It did make me understand the parents roles much differently than I had. Not much hope for changing psychopaths raging into schools or malls or wherever and killing everybody though. I guess we can only hope for/demand sensible gun laws but in this pathetic political climate, I have very little faith anything will change.

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Apr 16, 2009 Rae rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: true-crime-and-forensics

I found this book fascinating and revealing. It pretty much blows apart the initial reports in the media regarding the motives of the two killers. It also tells of the police department's incompetency and cover-up of the investigation.

There was so much more to this crime than was on the surface AND at the same time, there was so much less than what the media reported. Extremely interesting. Well-written. ...more

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