Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Columbine, I Thought I Knew You

Journalist Dave Cullen has spent the last 10 years researching and writing Columbine. He mentions on his website:

"I was compelled by two questions: what drove these killers, and what did they do to this town? That's what I set out to tell"

When Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold opened fire in their highschool, I was in highschool myself; the audio of Columbine teens confused and frightened, screaming in the halls, was played through our sound system at school. It was like a week after the tragedy and I was appalled at the time. In the weeks and months that followed I only remember references to The Trenchcoat Mafia and the rise of bullying in highschools. I remember the martyrdom of Cassie but not the kid hanging out of a window, shot and confused.
Dave Cullen, always with compassion and a love of truth, cracks open the myths of the Columbine attack and re-pieces a startling portrait of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, their lives and motives, and what actually happened at Columbine in April 1999.
Columbine is a revelation and a deeply, deeply moving story. Cullen is an evocative writer. Most media coverage of Columbine was emotionally manipulative but Cullen avoids melodrama and simply lets the facts and people's lives, speak for themselves. What remains is a book that everyone should read. It puts heart into extreme tragedy, dispels media myths, and shows us, full-bodied, the people whose lives were affected on that day and continue to be affected.
A brilliant piece of work.

Mandy

2 comments:

Dave Cullen said...

Thanks. I appreciate the kind words.

Anonymous said...

Wow, Dave, thank you for stopping by.

Mandy

Related Posts with Thumbnails