Newsweek review: http://www.newsweek.com/id/191392

Who wants to read about Comumbine? We know the ending; we know that two high school kids were bullied to the breaking point, and literally went ballistic, shooting up their school. Or do we?

In Dave Cullen's Columbine, he painstakingly goes back to the writings of these two kids, Eric and Dylan, and begins to paint quite a different picture of what happened, who instigated the shooting, and why. Through countless interviews and many police reports, he pieces together an enthralling narrative. In spite of the incredible detail Cullen gives us, the writing is accessible and not too weighty.

Although I thought I'd never want to read another word on Columbine, Cullen proves to me how wrong I was. This was a fascinating look into the psyches of two very disturbed young men, and how they changed forever the lives of the people around them. ( )

A remarkable book. Cullen is thorough in his analysis of the criminals and their victims. He avoids the easy answer--neglectful parents--almost to a fault, this in spite of the fact that the parents did not agree to any interviews with him. The depiction of the two killers starts out a bit cliched--Eric Harris the villain villain and Dylan the follower villain, but there's no real sympathy for Dylan, and there should not be any. Cullen even understands the rage of all the parents, even those who are nearly over the edge themselves.
When the day was over, I remember thinking that the one thing I'd learned was that in a crisis situation, the key thing is to act for yourself and not count on anyone. This confirms that feeling, even though police protocols have been changed. I was struck with the fact that none of the students at any time made any attempt to disarm the killers. Two boys in a room with many, many kids. Walking about, backs to the kids, but no one moved. Contrasts sharply with the 9/11 plane that was brought down by the passengers who didn't sit still.
Last striking fact--that Harris wasn't in fact a shooter, but really was a Timothy McVee trying to kill as many as possible. All the stuff about Goths, hating jocks, being bullied--all of it nonsense. A psychopath/sociopath with decent parents who fooled everyone and acted in a huge, violent way. ( )

A thorough examination of the Columbine massacre and its causes. Many myths are dispelled in this disturbing book. It is an important lesson for all of us and the book is an unpleasant, but necessary piece to the tragic puzzle. ( )

Reviewed by Mrs. Varns (Language Arts)
This book, written by an investigative journalist who was on the story from day one, is a highly detailed examination of one of the most shocking and terrible school shootings ever. The book includes background on the two killers, a timeline of the events of that day in April, as well as interviews with family members of the victims and survivors of the tragedy. I learned a lot about what went wrong that day, but more frighteningly, about what went wrong both before and after the killings happened. Oprah decided not to talk about the book on her show because it focuses on the killers and tries to posit ideas about why they did what they did. I don't feel the book glorified the murderers in any way. If anything, I came away with more questions about human behavior than I had before. ( )