When the Columbine tragedy occurred in April of 1999, people in the US and all around the world were glued to their television sets and scouring their newspapers for the latest information about the massacre. The media created profile of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold as members of the "TrenchCoat Mafia" and school outcasts bullied by jocks convinced Americans that they knew the killers and their motives. Dave Cullen's Columbine, published for the ten year anniversary of the shooting, tells the true story of Columbine and shows readers just how much of what they believed about the tragedy was wrong. Cullen explains that the media fabrication of the Columbine story was the result of overeager newspapers reporting, speculation, and rumor and a sheriff unopposed to talking off the cuff and presenting incomplete and often incorrect information as fact. Schools across the country banned trench coats as a result of the shooting, but Eric and Dylan were never members of the "TrenchCoat Mafia," as suggested by the press--they wore trench coats for the purely practical reason of hiding their weapons. Eric and Dylan also were not outcasts: they had friends, dated, and even attended the prom the weekend before the shooting. For ten years, Americans have believed that they knew what happened at Columbine; thanks to Dave Cullen, now they finally will.
Review
Columbine is true crime/non-fiction the way it should be done. This book is a page-turner, each chapter revealing more about the killers, the victims, the media, and the authorities. While Dave Cullen is a journalist, this book isn't written in the journalistic style: it reads like a novel. The shocking realization that so much of what was reported about the shooting was wrong hooks the reader from the very beginning. The Columbine tragedy occurred in the spring of my first year of teaching, so my entire career has been colored by the event. It was truly unsettling for me to learn that so much of what I believed about the massacre, so much of what was reported in the media, was just plain wrong. The book is a great example for media literacy, a wide-scale example of how the media can, and will, twist the truth in an effort to sell papers. Cullen's work is thoroughly researched and his extensive list of sources is included. Everyone in America should read this book, but especially every educator in America. Dave Cullen gives his readers a look into the minds of not only the killers, but the victims, the community, and the authorities, and helps the reader come away with a better understanding of this shocking moment in our country's history.
**Dr. CAT, if you were ever to teach the mystery genre class again, I would highly recommend this book as your true crime requirement.
Book Trailer:
References
Cullen, D. (2009). Columbine. New York: Twelve Books.
Cullen, D. (2011). DaveCullen.com. Retrieved from www.davecullen.com
No comments:
Post a Comment