Columbine

"Columbine" by Dave Cullen lays out how the massacre occurred and tries to answer why it occurred.  There is no primary focus of the novel in that it does not favor victims over the killers, the "how" questions versus the "why" questions.  It is well researched and does not make conclusions that are not well supported by facts, which he quotes and credits at length  Cullen isn't persuading the reader like an academic would do with their research, Cullen is reporting what experts have concluded.  The book is a 400 page synopsis of everything and everyone before and after the tragedy.   

What is so fascinating to me about this material is that it addresses and debunks common myths about the killers, that they were loners, part of a "trench coat mafia," and out for revenge.  They were actually popular, played sports, and very social.  What is true is that Eric Harris was a psychopath who gave Dylan Klebold, an angry and depressed young man, a way out, and that their parents were involved in their sons' lives but were still fooled.   

The book is sad and will likely make you cry at parts but it is important book because the myths that Columbine started about loners, goths, and 'us vs. them' mentality isn't true.  American culture may have its problems but we didn't produce the tragedy.  The killers, boys with parents who were actively involved in their lives, boys who had friends and people who loved them, chose to produce this tragedy.