Columbine Audible – Unabridged

Columbine Audible – Unabridged ridged
Author: Dave Cullen ID: B0025ZAMU6

Over the course of this gripping narrative, Dave 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 greatest – and most socially and historically important – shooting tragedies of the 20th century.Ten years in the works, Columbine is a masterpiece of reportage, from the acclaimed journalist who followed the massacre from day one and reconstructed the psychological journey of two teenage boys who became killers.
Done.
Audible Audio EditionListening Length: 14 hours and 9 minutesProgram Type: AudiobookVersion: UnabridgedPublisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.Audible.com Release Date: April 6, 2009Whispersync for Voice: ReadyLanguage: EnglishID: B0025ZAMU6 Best Sellers Rank: #5 in Books > Audible Audiobooks > Nonfiction > Education #15 in Books > Audible Audiobooks > Nonfiction > True Crime #21 in Books > Education & Teaching > Schools & Teaching > Education Theory > Reform & Policy
Ten years have passed since the tragic event that has become synonymous with school shootings. Columbine was once a word that simply denoted a high school, a football team or a state flower. But now the word is tainted. Despite the fact that we have moved on to newer tragedies with higher body-counts, the stain has not been scrubbed off of the word `Columbine’. But perhaps we need to do something other than wish it away. A better solution might be a deeper understanding of Columbine and similar events. The What, How and Why. Most of our answers to these simple questions have been dead-wrong and it is time to replace myth with truth.

But this is easier said than done. The Columbine shootings remain one of the most-thoroughly covered crimes in American history. However, despite the voluminous output of media coverage, what really happened that day, and the motivation behind the tragedy, is understood by very few people. The result of our curiosity led to more falsehoods than fact, making a clear picture of the events on and leading up to April 20th, 1999 difficult to discern. In many ways the vast outpouring of information makes this tragedy even harder to grasp; the chaff vastly outweighs the wheat.

Which makes Dave Cullen’s new book, Columbine, an accomplishment that catapults him to the top of the genre. Not since Capote’s In Cold Blood do we find such a thoughtful, illuminating, riveting, and disturbing portrait of the criminal mind. Columbine doesn’t just explode the myths of what happened that day and why. Instead the book carefully dissects our biases, revealing a populace eager to blame this tragedy on poor parenting, Satan, rock music, or goth kids because it is simpler and more convenient than hearing the truth.
To rate five stars, a book should be memorable, thoroughly researched, and well-written. The reader should be absorbed into the book to the point that he/she and the author have a "shared experience" and the reader should be changed in some way by that experience.

Dave Cullin succeeds on all counts. Columbine is a riveting narrative. He addresses many myths that the press created in the first moments after the tragedy and that most of us still believe. He also defends his premise — that Eric Harris wasn’t bullied, but a bully and a psychopath — very well with ample substantiation. I recommend this book.

Now, a caution:

As of this writing there are 11 1-star and 12 2-star reviews of this book. Nearly all of these are written by reviewers who object not to the work itself, but to Mr. Cullin’s premise. They are angered by the suggestion that the two boys weren’t victims of bullying, or that their parents weren’t to blame (although they made their mistakes as we all do), or that the school couldn’t have anticipated the attack. These aren’t legitimate reviews of the book. If an author presents a well-substantiated argument, he deserves credit for writing a good book, even if you don’t agree with his conclusions.

The dialogue throughout the reviews (both reviews and responsive comments) is badly compromised by writers with their own agendas — including authors of competing books. Be aware that the reviewer and commenter, Randy Brown who identifies himself as "A Columbine Parent" (creating legitimacy) generally fails to mention that his son Brooks wrote a book on the matter as well. Mr. Brown’s comments are as welcome as anyone’s, but by failing to mention this conflict of interest, he is misleading readers. Mr.
If "Columbine" were just a shot-by-shot account of the mass murder at a Colorado high school, this book wouldn’t be worth a minute of your time. Anyone who was alive in America on April 20, 1999 knows how Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold shot and killed 12 students and a teacher, wounded 23 others, and then put their rifles to their heads and killed themselves. We’ve all heard the story of the girl who — seconds before she was shot — looked the killers in the eye and told them she believed in God. We’ve heard about the "Trench Coat Mafia" and the violent video games. And we’ve heard that Harris and Klebold were social outcasts who, angered by incessant bullying, decided to get even by staging the biggest massacre ever at an American high school.

Why "Columbine" is worth the pain and tears it will cost you to read it: Most of what you’ve heard is wrong. If Dave Cullen is even remotely correct, Cassie Bernall was not killed because she told Harris or Klebold she believed in God. Harris and Klebold weren’t outcasts. They weren’t bullied, they didn’t target jocks. And they weren’t addicted to violent video games.

What motivated them?

For Eric Harris, raw hatred. A desire to kill as many people as possible — to end the world, if he could.

For Dylan Klebold, the hunger for love. And when he couldn’t find it, an all-consuming desire to kill himself.

If that’s the case, then the nationwide reaction to the Columbine massacre has given us no reason to feel secure — metal detectors and guards can’t tell the difference between a kid with a bit of teenage attitude and the grinning psychopath with raging violence in his heart.
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