Books on Columbine

What Columbine based books have you read? Tell us about them.

Trash called 'Columbine' by Dave Cullen. How about you?

1. We are, but we aren't Psycho by Tim Krabbe(actually wij zijn, maar wij zijn niet geschift in Dutch) This is most def my favorite Columbine book but hasn't been translated to English(yet).
He has some interesting theory's, and you can tell a lot of them were directly related to the old board.(the writer was a member)

2. No easy answers bij Rob Merrit and Brooks Brown. Really loved the inside information!!

3. Columbine, a true crime story by Jeff Kass. Overall a pretty good book about Columbine. I think he was a bit harsh towards the Klebolds, about not releasing information

4. Walking in Daniel's shoes by Tom Mauser. A really well written and moving story written from the perspective of a grieving parent.

5.Columbine by Dave Cullen. Pretty well written for an overall fictional book:)

Same as tragedy79 aside from Tim Krabbes book. I know it's not officially a Columbine book but i just borrowed Far From the Tree by Andrew Solomon which has the recent interview with the Klebolds in it. I plan on reading it this evening, shouldn't take too long and i'll post my thoughts.

queenfarooq wrote:

Same as tragedy79 aside from Tim Krabbes book. I know it's not officially a Columbine book but i just borrowed Far From the Tree by Andrew Solomon which has the recent interview with the Klebolds in it. I plan on reading it this evening, shouldn't take too long and i'll post my thoughts.

Hey welcome back queenfarooq!

Far from the tree is the next book, I wat to buy(I am a bit short on cash right now). It's to bad that it's only a few pages about The Klebolds I wish Tim Krabbes book was translated in english. We could have some valid discussion about it on the board.

Far from the Tree is a little expensive to buy just for one chapter I agree, i was lucky enough to find someone at work who had the book so they have lent it to me for a week
There were a few bits and pieces mentioned by the Klebolds that i had wondered about over time. All in all it's rather sad to read.

The only book I've read is Cullen's and I can't believe I actually read the whole thing. I wanna read Brook's book, is it any good?

I like Brooks book i'd definitely recommend reading it, i found it quite an easy read and it was great to hear from someone who actually attended Columbine at the time and knew E & D. The book is also available on amazon at a reasonable price too which is always a plus.

I've got Cullens book but still not read all of it, i know it's full of inaccuracies but i'd still like to read what he has to say as it's just a different perspective, i just find myself rolling my eyes at some of the things he says.

Jenn wrote:

The only book I've read is Cullen's and I can't believe I actually read the whole thing. I wanna read Brook's book, is it any good?

I've heard it's terrible. Is that true?

Ivan wrote:

Jenn wrote:

The only book I've read is Cullen's and I can't believe I actually read the whole thing. I wanna read Brook's book, is it any good?

I've heard it's terrible. Is that true?

Well, it's not bad written, but it's full of false facts and assumptions. On top of it all, he makes the innocent, less informed reader belief that all of his assumptions are actually fact..I think every Columbine researcher should read the book, but take it not to seriously.

Cullen's trash and Brooks Brown's No Easy Answers. I have read Far From the Tree and cried. If there is a woman who has lived more miserable years than Sue Klebold, I have no idea who she would be.
Maybe Kathy Harris.
I wanted to get Kass' book but to my astonishment and complete dismay, the largest book seller in Canada carries NO books about Columbine except Cullen's. I have ordered Kass' book from Amazon.com (which is where I got NEA) and am waiting on it. But I think it's a disgrace that Canadians have to buy from outside of the country to get any kind of an accurate picture. No wonder so many people are ill informed.

Columbine by Dave Cullen 4/5. Hate me all you want and yes, I know there are fallacies. As far as I'm concerned the book was well written and contained more of the information that I wanted to read about. I've always wanted to know what it was like to actually be there at Columbine on April 20th, and Cullen comes closer to describing the atmosphere that day in Littleton, Colorado than anyone else. That's what I like so much about it. It would honestly give it a perfect score if not for inaccuracies.

Columbine: A True Crime Story 2.5/5. It started off well with the information about the Klebolds and where they came from. I live about 20 minutes from the Yassenoff Community Center and knowing the connection it has with Columbine is crazy. Other than that he lost me pretty quickly when he started talking about the lawyers in the case and I thought it to be odd that he only included a part about the Shoels' as far as victims go.

Why Kids Kill: Inside the Minds by Peter Langman 5/5. I know this book isn't solely about Columbine but, it came out close to the 10th anniversary so I'm including it. As far as books about the psychology of school shooters, no book does a better job of explaining the psyches of the kids who walk into their school and attempt to gun down as many of the peers as possible. Peter Langman does a great job of tearing apart the information that's left behind by the shooters and explaining it bit by bit all while making it easy to understand. He is able to put everything back together and ends up revealing a picture that these kids are deeply psychologically disturbed and that the things we believe to cause these rampage shootings are mostly incorrect.

I like to call these books the big 3 because they all came out around the 10th anniversary of Columbine. I've read a few others and I'll get to those later.

I'm about 75% of the way through "Comprehending Columbine" (Ralph Larkin). It's a bit dry and wordy, but it has some good insight into the climate of the area at the time and some generally interesting information.

Just read "Spree Killers: On the Rampage" (Bill Wallace), which has a chapter about Columbine. The book overall is very simplistic and not particularly accurate, but the basic facts are correct.

tragedy79 wrote:

We are, but we aren't Psycho by Tim Krabbe(actually wij zijn, maar wij zijn niet geschift in Dutch) This is most def my favorite Columbine book but hasn't been translated to English(yet).
He has some interesting theory's, and you can tell a lot of them were directly related to the old board.(the writer was a member)

Does anyone know where I could find a translation. Or even a copy I could translate. I'm dying to read this.

Grant Whitus, one of the 2 officers that moved Dave Sanders from the science classroom to the storage room while he was still alive, is publishing a book titled "Bullet Riddled: The First S.W.A.T. Officer Inside Columbine...and Beyond". The publication date is September 1…

Quote :

Grant Whitus joined the Colorado S.W.A.T in 1992. His seventeen year career was one of constant headlines. Among leading countless drug raids and hostage situations, he was on the front lines of the Columbine Massacre, The Platte County Tragedy, the Albert Petrosky shooting, and the Granby tank rampage. Speaking for the first time, Whitus gives the unvarnished truth of those, and many other, major S.W.A.T operations. Now retired, he opens up about his time behind the shield. Bullet Riddled is the full unabridged disclosure of what happened during his storied career; including the brutal morning of the Columbine Massacre. More than just a retelling, Bullet-Riddled is an in-depth look at the day-to-day of S.W.A.T and focuses on the men and women who inherit so much pain to keep us safe. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the aftermath of the Columbine tragedy. The following days saw major changes within S.W.A.T. Men cracked, leaders folded and the entire country demanded changes. But these changes, like all reforms, met with stiff resistance from the old guard. Friendships turned into rivals and the infrastructure of S.W.A.T began to unravel. As resignations piled up, Grant rebuilt the entire team from hand-selected recruits. He finally had his elite team, one that would face new demons and disorders.

That sounds interesting Gonz

The Grant Whitus book is out but I cannot find it on Tumblr or anything for free so if someone finds it and wanna share, let me know!

There is a sample on Amazon and Google Books, I read it and found at least one myth already (the "one, two, three" before E&D suicide), but I still want to read the whole thing since he was really in there that day.

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One of the National Enquirer suicide pics is on the book, I wasn't expecting that :S

And here you have a couple of interviews he did regarding the publication. For WGN Radio and 5280 Magazine.

Quote :

It’s been 17 years since the Columbine shooting. Why write this book now?

I wanted to write one then, but the bosses at the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said, “Don’t do it…. If you say anything bad about the department, you could be up for scrutiny or get suspended.”

I've ordered mine but it's not coming til the end of October for some reason! Maybe it's out later over here?

As always, if anyone wants it when I've read it I will send it out to them.

Draw_It_White wrote:

I've ordered mine but it's not coming til the end of October for some reason! Maybe it's out later over here?

As always, if anyone wants it when I've read it I will send it out to them.

I doubt you would want to ship to the US JKJKJKJK

I am planning on getting it and when I do I will try to scan it to PDF to share

i have dave cullen book and brooks brown book both in pdf , i would happly share it . Just send me a pm if you want them . I found them free online .

I have the audiobook of Bullet Riddled by Grant Whitus ...

if you want, private message me for the link

Lizpuff wrote:

Draw_It_White wrote:

I've ordered mine but it's not coming til the end of October for some reason! Maybe it's out later over here?

As always, if anyone wants it when I've read it I will send it out to them.

I doubt you would want to ship to the US JKJKJKJK

I am planning on getting it and when I do I will try to scan it to PDF to share

I can do if you wish.

"A Mother's Reckoning" by Sue Klebold (in both English & Italian); No Easy Answers; and I will start Comprehending Columbine as soon as I can.

I got the free sample of Bullet Riddled by Grant Whitus for my Amazon Kindle. I was surprised to read that he thought Eric and Dylan had only been dead a short time due to the color and composition of the blood and that a girl I assume to be Lisa asked him to help her but he told her he couldn't stop as he was the first one in the library and was looking for the shooters.He could hear another SWAT member counting the dead bodies in the library.It was interesting. Was really surprised to see one of the pics of Eric and Dylan dead in the library included in the sample.

spinvault wrote:

I got the free sample of Bullet Riddled by Grant Whitus for my Amazon Kindle. I was surprised to read that he thought Eric and Dylan had only been dead a short time due to the color and composition of the blood and that a girl I assume to be Lisa asked him to help her but he told her he couldn't stop as he was the first one in the library and was looking for the shooters.He could hear another SWAT member counting the dead bodies in the library.It was interesting. Was really surprised to see one of the pics of Eric and Dylan dead in the library included in the sample.

Wait wait wait whuuttttttt?

Which National Enquiry suicide pic is in Grant's book. the one with the other angle?

Grant's radio interview was pretty cool. He said something right, "Bigger shootings have happened. So, Columbine was the first time that these cowards realise that they're gonna get recognition for doing this, statistically it's a suicide mission anyway so they want their name to live forever. The bigger the shooting, the longer their name will live and it's sick actually."

There is a preview of the book here (also shows some pictures):

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Wonderful! I am reading the available parts here and am fascinated.

Gosh Grant, hahahah. No ill will on him I mean I'm sure he has done good work but reading his book is more like reading an aol conversation between two teenagers

shades wrote:

Gosh Grant, hahahah. No ill will on him I mean I'm sure he has done good work but reading his book is more like reading an aol conversation between two teenagers

Ehhehhe, I am supposedly not the only one who is reading at the moment 

Quite a redundant question but since we're on the topic of SWAT team we don't know who's the one who moved Dylan from the actual position he was found right? Was it Grant? Grant did you move Dylan?

shades wrote:

Quite a redundant question but since we're on the topic of SWAT team we don't know who's the one who moved Dylan from the actual position he was found right? Was it Grant? Grant did you move Dylan?

I wish he would have written the exact position he found Eric and Dylan.

spinvault wrote:

I wish he would have written the exact position he found Eric and Dylan.

I know. So far there're many flaws and missing info in his book. I have more questions as I go along the way instead of feeling covered.

shades wrote:

spinvault wrote:

I wish he would have written the exact position he found Eric and Dylan.

I know. So far there're many flaws and missing info in his book. I have more questions as I go along the way instead of feeling covered.

I was hopeful that the book would be more informative, but I am getting more questions than answers so far.

I feel like I'm just reading grant's anger and attempt at suspense rather than much needed information that would make his book valid.

Interesting to read that they only sent one medic up with no kit to help Dave Sanders, and then told SWAT without even checking his pulse that he was dead.

My favorite book on columbine is No Easy Answers because it's very well written and a fascinating book.

The book just felt real and personal which is what I like, I like hearing from the perspective of someone who knew them as well as know others affected by what they did.

I tried getting into Columbine by Dave Cullen, but it just felt too fictional and not real when reading it, I understand wanting to describe things in detail, but Dave just went on and on about shit for too long.

I heard that Dave's book has a ton of misinformation and sheer ignorance all over the book which isn't good for people new to columbine research.

I also laughed at parts primarely chapter 7 since it talked about the begining of eric and brooks falling out and some of the shit eric does as well as his reactions are golden.

It was so fuckin funny, i wished he would've recorded it since it was so priceless, i would've loved to see eric pissed off over something trivial as a backpack.

Anyways, I highly recommend you check it out, it's really fuckin good.

One book i loved alot that talks quite alot about columbine, as well as other school shootings is Why kids kill, it is a good book to read if you're interested in mental health, as well as school shootings.

I never thought about the things Peter says about Eric and Dylan, i never thought about the majority of things he hated were a block of his progress, i never knew eric had surgery and had a metal plate in his chest.

It was just facinating.

Reading it was just as enjoyable and fascinating as the serial killer files because both go into a ton of detail about these people.

I think you all should check it out, it's an amazing.

Juicy Jazzy wrote:

Interesting to read that they only sent one medic up with no kit to help Dave Sanders, and then told SWAT without even checking his pulse that he was dead.

This was the only thing that I have learned so far from Grant's book. One medic alone in scrubs with no gear to protect him and no medical kit. What the heck did they expect that guy to do?

I just read the free sample of Walking in Daniel's Shoes by Tom Mauser. I can't imagine the emotion,anxiety and heartbreak the families of the victims experienced. And JEFFCO police was so insensitive having them wait for the last promised bus that would never arrive,asking them what their child was wearing that day, and even asking the Mausers for Daniel's dental records but telling them they no information and the investigation was continuing. It boggles my mind. Good sample will probably get the entire book soon.

spinvault wrote:

I just read the free sample of Walking in Daniel's Shoes by Tom Mauser. I can't imagine the emotion,anxiety and heartbreak the families of the victims experienced. And JEFFCO police was so insensitive having them wait for the last promised bus that would never arrive,asking them what their child was wearing that day, and even asking the Mausers for Daniel's dental records but telling them they no information and the investigation was continuing. It boggles my mind. Good sample will probably get the entire book soon.

I have a pdf if you want it

Lizpuff wrote:

I have a pdf if you want it

Gasp I want it. Pm me!

Lizpuff wrote:

spinvault wrote:

I just read the free sample of Walking in Daniel's Shoes by Tom Mauser. I can't imagine the emotion,anxiety and heartbreak the families of the victims experienced. And JEFFCO police was so insensitive having them wait for the last promised bus that would never arrive,asking them what their child was wearing that day, and even asking the Mausers for Daniel's dental records but telling them they no information and the investigation was continuing. It boggles my mind. Good sample will probably get the entire book soon.

I have a pdf if you want it

What is a pdf?Sorry, I am an idiot when it comes to computers and technology.

I will PM you both

I am reading the book "Walking in Daniel's Shoes" by Tom Mauser. I can't imagine the deep emotions sorrow and grief the victims' families experienced.I don't think I have the strength they have - I couldn't have closed the casket lid as he did. All the funerals I have been to, the funeral director always closed the casket after everyone had filed passed. Also listening to the audio tape and hearing Eric taunt Daniel then shoot at 11:34:54 and 11:34:57 would have been more than I could have handled. Just out of curiosity,does anyone know if that was a tape that JEFFCO only allowed certain people to hear and not available to the public much like the basement tapes. A good book about a parent's grief and the days and years after that tragic day.

Thanks for the info. I am not sure I would want to hear the entire tape. I can't imagine hearing your child be taunted and shot and there is nothing you can do to stop it.

I've as books on Columbine
1) No easy answer by Rob Merrit and Brooks Brown. Really loved it!!!

2) Columbine, a true crime story by Jeff Kass. It's a pretty good book about Columbine.
3) Rachel tears by Beth Nimmo and Darrell Scott .. This book has written by Rachel' parents and her siblings and friends
4) Rachel smiles too it's a good book
5. "A Mother's Reckoning" by Sue Klebold
6. Columbine by Dave Cullen

The only books on Columbine I have read are Columbine A True Crime Story, and A Teenage Philosophy Of Awareness and Existence: Analysis of the Columbine Shooters' Worldview

I do want to eventually read No Easy Answers and Columbine: Evidence Ignored