Customer Reviews

Comprehending Columbine

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I was led to this book after reading Columbine by Dave Cullen. For me, that book raised more questions then it answered. Ironically, I live in the community and had resisted reading any of the books on the subject. Locally, the coverage of the murders was relentless and I had read and seen enough to last a lifetime. I thought I never wanted to hear about it again. Then I saw the press release for Cullen's book and decided that after ten years perhaps it was time to read a comprehensive exploration of the subject.

I found Cullen's book a great disappointment. There are so many factual errors and assumptions throughout the work that at the end I felt I had to do more reading. I checked my library's catalog to find other relevant material on Columbine which is how I found this book, along with Jeff Kass' book and Brooks Brown's memoir. So, I started out reluctant to read even one book on the subject and in the end read four.

Brooks Brown's book is a heartfelt book by a boy trying to sort out unfathomable events caused by people he knew. It is worthy of a read, but it is not, nor does it claim to be, a thorough exploration like Cullen's, Kass' or Larkin's work. Of the group I feel Larkin's book is the most objective. It has a clear academic perspective in its execution but unlike a dry thesis it reads well. The logic isn't faulty and the evidence for statements and conclusions is provided. There is little opinion offered without substantiation. I read the book from cover to cover.

Unlike the other two author's, Larkin does not have an obvious agenda -- except to find answers. Kass' book focuses too long on the racial aspect of one child's murder which is a worthy subject but throws the balance of the book off in its length. It becomes distracting. Cullen's book offers blatant errors about the killers' -- Dylan and Klebold were not popular or ladies men (read Brooks Brown's book -- he was a friend.) Worse, Cullen is intent on simplifying the story -- he claims it was all the fault of mental illness. Well, there are plenty of mentally ill people who do not commit crimes, just as there are plenty of kids who are bullied that do not murder. Many more factors are clearly at play in the "why" of what happened.

Readng Brooks Brown's book makes the trauma of on-going bullying and the outcast status in school clear.Some kids are going to handle the erosion of their self-esteem better than others. Cullen's determination that it wasn't a factor is a bizarre assertion. One of the other reviewers here mentioned that the bullying theory had been largely debunked -- huh? Where did that come from -- the school administration? All the pieces of the puzzle must be examined to get a complete picture of what caused those two boys to commit such a horrific act -- it is the only way to learn from Columbine and it is what Larkin does in his book. The adults in the lives of the children failed them. It wasn't one thing or one event that caused this act. This crime was planned and kept secret for a year -- a staggering fact.

My hope in reading Cullen's book was that a complete story would be told, not one that was whitewashed by the school (what bullying?), hidden by the sheriff's department (what gross mishandling?) or hijacked by the evanjelicals (it was religious persecution.) Unfortunately the author twisted information to make the story reach a pre-determined conclusion of his own making. That is not the case with Larkin in this book.

If you are looking for one book to read on the subject I would recommend this one. If you have time for two I'd read this one and Jeff Kass' book. If you have time for three, definitely add Brooks Brown's book to your list.

This book is very thorough and written in a scholarly manner. However, the author seems to want to support the bully hypothesis so badly that he insists on claims which are unsupported. The claim that bothered me the most was that Klebold was bisexual. The only evidence the author provides for this is that a reporter came forward after the shooting and said he encountered Klebold in a chat room, where he identified himself as bisexual. Besides this book, I have never read this anywhere else, and the claim seems unreliable to me. Also the author insists that the Klebolds are a dysfunctional family because Dylan and his brother argue; the parents have different religious beliefs; and they are not very touchy. The Klebolds do not seem any more dysfunctional than any other family. Most siblings fight; a home where religion is a choice seems healthy; and affection comes in many different forms. I don't agree with some of the claims in the book but if you're curious about it, I would suggest getting a used copy and making your own judgments. Best Wishes -A. K.

Just finnished the Book, was suprised it tended to lean back towards the whole "Jockocracy" thing. I thought those theories had pretty much been abandoned in favor of the "Apocolyiptic fame" theories that the boys were trying to eclipse Tim McViegh and the fact that they didn't select any specific targets. I liked the fact that it was so harsh on the "Christian right" for trying to make the massacre about themselves and enjoyed the interviews with the random students. Was supprised that every student interviewed said the same thing "They shot the wrong students". REALLY enjoyed the 8th chapter about the rise & fall of youth culture, I'm really into history, but the last chapter of the book is wasted ink with Larkin's theories on preventing school Bullying. It's always going to happen.

Columbine: a label pertaining to an evil that has never been fully understood. But why? Even after ten years, most of the mainstream media has shed little light on the subject. Endless documentaries, countless writings. Over ten thousand pages of official police files. A new book ushered in as the "defenitive narrative we have of the killings". Yet, how come the puzzle seems far from complete? Actually, it has been finished. But our society refuses to look directly at it and decipher the contents correctly. Only a small few have taken the time to do so, rightly letting go of biases in favor of gaining the knoweledge needed to explain the events of April 20th, 1999. This author is one of them.

The opening text describes the moments leading up to the shooting (which itself was intended as a bombing), as Eric David Harris and Dylan Bennet Klebold carry out the murders. It is gripping, scary, but insightful and does not stray from the exact details. Jeff Kass' opening does a considerable job doing so as well, but Mr. Larkin's is not at all confusing and highly explicit for both the casual and experienced reader. You can literally picture being at the scene of the crime, and this is a benefit I regard as most important in feeling the tension, grief, and horror of public depravity. Just when you are intrigued, and can't stop turning page after page, bare bone facts submerge before your eyes.

Ralph Larkin literally goes no holds barred, in his interviews with the faculty, staff, and even students from both extremes of the social cliques in order to present his case, which becomes the ultimate plausible case. We hear of the myths and truths which many have claimed were revealed by the recent works of Cullen and Slate.com (which is perposterous considering Larkin's book came about two and a half years beforehand). In "Comprehending Columbine", we learn and for the first time feel exactly who these two misguided and delusional young men were. Eric was monstrous, yes. Klebold was soaked in depression. Yes, they had a huge group of friends. Yes, Dylan went to the prom. Yes, Eric had lots of dates. But you have got to do the full research to know just how far these facts go. For example, Eric was found to be an attractive adolescent, and girls did perk up to him... until they got to know him as a person and backed off due to his agression and inability to hold a lasting relationship, which in turn fueled his hatred. He lived off this hate for so long, it ate him up. Eric became a twisted individual, and CANNOT be labeled a psychopath as that term itself is not broad enough to explain his motives. He lived in a world which seemed to be in constant war. Harris himself grew into a hypocritical, lying and cunning individual, but he was not born that way. By all means, the true story of his growth into the infamous killer he is known today is shocking, but makes sense in every way. We just have to be willing to admit this country has a knack to be such a poisonous central for our youth.

Like "Going Postal" by Mark Ames (a great critique I highly reccomend purchasing), this book is a most informative piece, a strong commentary that does the incident justice. Complete, accurate facts written with an open mind. A worthy book which sadly has been overshadowed by the recent success known as "Columbine", yet remains THE best source out there in the market today. An accomplishment that deserves far more praise than it gets. Buy it.

If you are looking for a book with new theories, FBI reports, shocking pictures, then this is not the Columbine book for you. However, if you are looking for an academic book on the subject with an author who conducted numerous hours of research in the field that has a solid basis in empirical evidence, then you should read "Comprehending Columbine." Dr. Larkin presents scholarly approach to topic that can be controversial.

As a former high school social studies teacher, now full-time graduate student getting my second Masters in Criminal Justice, my topic is homophobic bullying and how it leads to school violence. Hence Columbine is a part of my thesis. In the past four months gathering research for my thesis, I have read nearly every book and academic article on school shooters and "Comprehending Columbine" did give me some useful insights into Klebold and Harris' motives, Columbine's toxic atmosphere and added more infomation to my own research. My only complaint and the reason I did not give the book 5 stars is that Dr. Larkin in the first six chapters of the book kept referring to Eric Harris' web site as the "Trenchcoat Mafia" web site, which is not correct. As Dr. Larkin explained in later chapters, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were not members of the Trenchcoat Mafia, they only knew people who were. That incorrect fact was my one pet peeve with the book.

So, if you are looking for a book the Columbine tragedy that has solid writing, excellent resources and examines the shooting in depth, I suggest buying Dr. Larkin's book. If you want to read more on the topic, then buy others like Dave Cullen's or Jeff Kass' as supplemental reading on the subject.

This book attempts to deconstruct the events using scholarly approaches to remain as objective as possible. After a variety of books with varying levels of factual accuracy promoting their own agenda, this author presents a variety of contributing factors as objectively as possible with appropriate examples, evidence, and support. There are a few spots where the author's personal biases begin to creep in but he does a good job of attempting objectivity when you consider how passionate we can become related to some of the topics. This book is not easy to read due to its content but it is absolutely worthwhile. Read it with a friend since you'll want to talk about it.

Some may ask, "Why a new book on Columbine after all this time?" but ask yourself, "Do we really know why they did it?"
Dr. Larkin provides much of that answer, but the real importance of his book is how it applies to many other schools still now. Think about it: at least two thirds of all rampage shooters had as their prime motive revenge for past humiliations at the hands of bullies, and most of that bullying came from jocks who see themselves as king of the hill. Worse still for the kids who are humiliated and sometimes scarred for life, this kind of violence is condoned by many adults in the community, especially coaches, former coaches who are administrators and school football team supporters, including the parents of the bullies. There is a reason why the vast majority of rampage shootings occur in rural and suburban schools where winning at sports overshadows any other kind of scholastic or artistic achievement.

Don't get me wrong. Sports and exercise are great for students, but we're not talking about physical health. The problem is the jock culture in which anyone less than a sports hero *deserves* to be dissed. They never learned that putting others down doesn't raise you up. Looking beyond Columbine, a similar conclusion can be found in *The Shooting Game.* The Shooting Game: The Making of School Shooters

I've read a number of books on Columbine, including all the serious studies I could find, and this is the best book on Columbine I've seen. It's also the scariest, because it takes you so far inside the twisted world of these two killers that you actually begin to understand their sick point of view and how their crimes came to seem so inevitable that Dylan Klebold could say on the morning of his death, "We did what we had to do." That's quite an accomplishment for any author, and one that no other writer on the subject has managed as successfully. Larkin's painstaking research yields a compelling look at the the factors that drove these two boys, from the tormented world of their dysfunctional school to the inner torment of their disturbed minds. It's with a sense of relief that I finished this book, realizing that the questions I had about the causes of this tragedy had at last found some answers. Thank you, Mr. Larkin.

In direct contradiction to another, more recently published book on Columbine, this author actually has his facts correct, and his subsequent theories about why Columbine occurred are excellent. This is the book to read if you really want to understand what went wrong, and how we can prevent other such tragedies from happening. After you read it, you'll understand how truly biased and wrong-thinking that other "non-fiction" book on Columbine really is.

That said, I do have a quibble with Larkin's book: I wish that his writing did not at times appear so extremely anti-Christian. Such writing seems out of place, considering that he correctly debunks the myth that the killers were targeting Christians. His statement declaring Christians to be "anti-science" is an argument that belongs in a different book, and lumping together all Christians with those hypocritical and self-aggrandizing "Christians" at Columbine is offensive. Genuine Christians don't attempt to "convert" you by declaring that you're going to hell, and genuine Christians don't live their lives in direct opposition to their stated values.

But all that aside, this book will be of tremendous value to anyone who genuinely wants to understand Columbine.

Very interesting exploration of the culture in that high school. From what I've read, it's a shame the boys weren't able to make a more lasting impression on that community.