Columbine

In remembrance of the 25th anniversary, this definitive account of Columbine examines the aftermath and significance of the "a staggering work of journalism" ( Washington Post ).<br /><br />So begins a new preface, illustrating how Columbine became the template for nearly two decades of "spectacle murders." It is a false script, seized upon by a generation of new killers. In the wake of Newtown, Aurora, and Virginia Tech, the imperative to understand the crime that sparked this plague grows more urgent every year.<br /><br />Dave Cullen was one of the first reporters on the scene, and he spent ten years on this book, the definitive account. With a keen investigative eye and psychological acumen, he draws on mountains of evidence, insight from the world's leading forensic psychologists, and the killers' own words and drawings—several reproduced in a new appendix. Cullen paints raw portraits of two polar opposite killers. They contrast starkly with the flashes of resilience and redemption among the survivors.<br /><br />"Excellent...amazing how much still comes as a surprise." — New York Times Book Review<br /><br />"Like Capote's In Cold Blood, this tour de force gets below the who and the what of a horrifying incident to lay bare the devastating why." — People<br /><br />"A staggering work of journalism."  Washington Post