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An insider's guide through the web of myths, legitimate evidence, and contradictory media coverage surrounding Columbine. |
This page offers the quickest way to get up to speed on Columbine, by suggesting a handful of excellent comprehensive pieces. (I am frequently asked if there's a Columbine film I recommend, so I included a special entry for one at the end.)
They are listed in reverse-chronological order, because we know much more now than we did when the earlier stories were published.
SLATE, April 2004
THE DEPRESSIVE & THE PSYCHOPATH
I didn't create this page to tout my own work, but in April 2004, a few years after setting it up, the leader of the FBI's Columbine team finally went public with his insights on Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. On the fifth anniversary, I published the conclusions of Supervisory Special Agent Dwayne Fuselier and several other psychologists brought in by the FBI.
While Fuselier is too humble to admit it, he is easily the world's leading authority on Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. I spent three years discussing the case with him and other leading mental health experts before publishing the story. It has been widely cited as the definitive account to-date. The Slate piece is much shorter than the others highlighted here, so for a fuller picture you'll want to read them all. They're all excellent.
GQ, April 2004
COLUMBINE NEVER SLEEPS
Disclaimer: I worked as a researcher on the story for Michael Paterniti, but I had nothing to do with the writing or editing.
This is my favorite piece ever written on Columbine. I read it on a plane ride, and the flight attendant got concerned, because I could not stop crying. It gave me fresh insights into the lives of subjects I had interviewed many times and thought I knew well already. It inspired me to return to Columbine and write my book.
(The story is not available online, unfortunately—for pay or for free—but it begins on p. 206 of the issue dated April, 2004. Viggo Mortensen is on the cover.)
The story was a look back at how Columbine affected us, primarily through the eyes of five people deeply affected by the tragedy. Dazzling writing propels you first back into the tragedy, then straight into the lives of five survivors, in a powerfully empathetic way.
| It's the most personal story I've ever seen on Columbine, and the most moving. This was published nearly five years after the tragedy, and it took that long for someone to truly get it pitch perfect. | ||
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Five years later, Mike Paterniti came back. If you have any interest in this subject matter, do yourself a favor. Go read it.
WESTWORD, December 2001
I'M FULL OF HATE AND I LOVE IT
In the most revealing story to come out in the early 2000s, Alan Prendergast got a hold of actual pages from the still-secret journal of Eric Harris. It was the biggest scoop to-date and provided fascinating material, which Alan handled expertly. He wrote a great story that is still captivating and stands up just as well today. Westword also posted scans of several pages from Eric's journal, mostly handwritten.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, December 1999
INSIDE THE COLUMBINE INVESTIGATION
For a look behind the scenes at how law enforcement addressed the case, from Day One through the investigation, read this three-part series: Part 1: Inside the Columbine Investigation (it uses the same title as the full package), Part 2: Amassing the facts, and Part 3: Biggest question of all. The primary reporter on the series, Dan Luzadder, was one of the best reporters ever to cover the case. Look for his byline on any Columbine story, and you'll know you can trust it. (Others on his level who reported extensively on Columbine are Tom Kenworthy, who covered the story initially for the Washington Post, later for USA Today; and Alan Prendergast at Westword.)
TIME, December 1999
THE COLUMBINE TAPES
Time magazine's stunning cover story about The Basement Tapes in December 1999 was not just about the videos. It pulled together all the known facts at the time, with full participation of lead investigator Kate Battan. It summarized the full case very well, and was one of the best comprehensive stories ever published, particularly given the information available at the time. Timothy Roche and Nancy Gibbs did a remarkable job. The writing is infinitely better than you would expect in Time.
The issue included several stories on Columbine, though the cover story was by far the most important. The dramatic cover shot of Eric and Dylan in the cafeteria is here. The same page offers a table of contents for the issue, with links to the rest of the stories in that package. The one really shitty thing about the issue is the highly disingenuous Letter From the Editor "Why We Went Back To Columbine," signed by Managing Editor Walter Isaacson.
Note: Time has gone back and forth on allowing this story to be read free. It was only available for a fee for several years, but in May 2007, it was free again. Regardless, the link will take you to the story or to an abstract, where you can buy it, or record the information to get it at your library.
SALON, September 1999
INSIDE THE COLUMBINE HIGH INVESTIGATION
My two-part cover package on the Columbine myths from September 1999 has become better known by its subtitle, "Everything you know about the Littleton killings is wrong." It was published before Jeffco announced the existence of The Basement Tapes, so it lacks that key information woven through the Time piece. However, these stories address the myths directly, so they identify what you need to unlearn about Columbine.
The main story, Inside The Columbine High Investigation, lays out what officials knew at the time, including the first public statements from Lead Investigator Kate Battan. She is quoted extensively, about most major areas of the case. The companion stories might actually be more useful in filling in the gaps that Time didn't focus on. Kill mankind. No one should survive focuses on the killers' motivations, with a lot of passages from Eric Harris' journal and website. The third installment, Who Said Yes?, published a week later, lays out most of the story on Christian martyr Cassie Bernall. My disclosure that police believed Cassie Bernall never told the killers she believed in God provoked a bitter controversy in Evangelical Christian circles, and many of them insist to this day that Cassie did speak.
There have been several Columbine-related films, and I have seen most of them. Of those, one stands out:
ZERO DAY
This is a fiction film, yet it captures much of the essence of the actual killers. It's chilling. I kept watching it, thinking, "Has this guy been reading my interview notes?" Director and co-writer Ben Coccio captures the interplay between two Columbine-like killers in an unsettling manner. That may or may not be what Harris and Klebold actually did, but it reveals emotions in a way that I found extraordinary. Look for the film on DVD. You can order it from the link in this entry. It was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award, which hopefully helped it find a wider audience.
Return to Home Page of The Columbine Guide.
Written and compiled by Dave Cullen. Copyright 2003-2007.
Columbine collage photos from the Rocky Mountain News.
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This site was formerly called the Columbine Navigator and Almanac.
Contact: dave@davecullen.com
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