Columbine

Everyone remembers April 20, 1999.

Dave Cullen does a fantastic job walking us through the halls and heartbreak of Columbine. Columbine became more than just a school. It became a landmark, a massacre, and a sense of serenity for the survivors.

Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold took the lives of 13 students and faculty, before turning their guns on themselves. This event was a turning point in American culture Dave Cullen has been working on this case for 17 years, and there is still very little closure. He retells the events in such detail that it's hard to believe it's nonfiction. He walks us through the halls with the frantic students, faculty, the principal, even the gunmen themselves. You can feel the terror as Eric and Dylan begin throwing pipe bombs down the stairwells at their friends. The police and SWAT had their adrenaline pumping trying to secure the perimeter. The parents not so patiently waiting to see if their children showed up at one of the safe zones. You feel the pain of parents knowing their children will never be coming home. Columbine created a sense of fear in the everyday lives of every student, parent, and faculty member in America. Eric and Dylan fed off of this fear. They planned for almost a year before their attack. They kept journals, they made video tapes, they practiced with their weapons, and they perfected their pipe bombs. The two of them knew they would not be leaving the attack alive. They left messages of apology for their families and loved ones. But this was what they believed they needed to do. 

Looking for other books by Dave Cullen?

Parkland