Jeff Kass

Examines the details surrounding the school shooting at Columbine High School in 1999.

A True Crime Story : a Victim, the Killers, and the Nation's Search for Answers

Columbine

Caroline Lewicki

It's difficult to summarize my thoughts on this book. It's definitely in depth and provided some new information into the Columbine High School massacre that I didn't previously know but I also think it included some information that was unnecessary for a variety of reasons. It was difficult to read for a variety of reasons. 

There is an excess of information on the backgrounds of the killer's families, mostly the Klebolds. This was fairly boring and never seemed to come full circle or provide information that was pertinent to understanding the case. There was also information included about the West and what Colorado was like in its early stages of statehood and I don't know that that really added to the book. I also think there was information that would have been better left out because it was too graphic. Putting direct quotes from the killers on the day of the shooting into the book doesn't provide the reader with insight that we didn't already have or assume. 

There were definitely points in the book where it felt like the author was being exploitative just for the sake of doing it. I don't know how I feel about the book as a whole but if you're interested in true crime and especially Columbine, this is worth the read.

Columbine A True Crime Story : a Victim, the Killers, and the Nation's Search for Answers

Reviews