One Line Summary

A definitive, myth-busting investigation of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre that replaces early narratives with evidence, psychology, and human consequence.

Opening Impression

Columbine opens like a careful audit of public memory. Dave Cullen steps past sensational headlines to reconstruct what happened, what did not, and why early errors hardened into accepted truth.

Synopsis

Cullen structures the narrative across the day of the attack and the long aftermath, rebuilding April 20, 1999 with minute-by-minute precision before widening the lens to institutional failure and recovery.

Analysis

Approach: Cullen combines exhaustive reporting with restraint, refusing spectacle in favour of documented fact.

Psychology: The book dismantles simplistic explanations and explores the killers’ motivations without glamorising them.

Impact: By correcting false narratives, the work reshapes how the event is understood and discussed.

Verdict

Columbine remains an essential corrective — rigorous, restrained, and morally serious. It replaces myth with fact and spectacle with accountability.