COLUMBINE

Colorado journalist Dave Cullen's meticulous research dispels the myths and hasty assumptions surrounding the 1999 Columbine High School shootings. Cullen's conclusions are drawn from hundreds of interviews and the wealth of information left behind by shooters Harris and Klebold. Apparently, Columbine was a painstakingly planned bombing gone wrong. Only when the bombs failed to detonate did the shooting begin. Don Leslie's nuanced reading of the disturbing material makes clear that the boys were not goths, gay, or bullied. Leslie is mesmerizing as he makes Cullen's case that Harris was predisposed to psychopathy and Klebold was erratic, depressed, and suicidal. Once they got together, the dyad became deadly. If this important book were fiction, it would be devastating. Knowing it really happened is heartbreaking. S.J.H. 2010 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2009]