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Comprehending Columbine

by Ralph W. Larkin

Included in the KU Select 2016 Backlist Collection.

On April 20, 1999, two Colorado teenagers went on a shooting rampage at Columbine High School. That day, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed twelve fellow students and a teacher, as well as wounding twenty-four other people, before they killed themselves. Although there have been other books written about the tragedy, this is the first serious, impartial investigation into the cultural, environmental, and psychological causes of the massacre.


Based on first-hand interviews and a thorough reading of the relevant literature, Ralph Larkin examines the complex of factors that led the two young men to plan and carry out their deed. For Harris and Klebold, Larkin concludes, the carnage was an act of revenge against the "jocks" who had harassed and humiliated them, retribution against evangelical students who acted as if they were morally superior, an acting out of the mythology of right-wing paramilitary organization members to "die in a blaze of glory," and a deep desire for notoriety.


Rather than simply looking at Columbine as a crucible for all school violence, Larkin places the tragedy in its proper context, and in doing so, examines its causes and meaning.

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Table of Contents

  • Cover Page
  • Title Page
  • Copyright Page
  • Dedication Page
  • Contents
  • 1 - Armageddon (Well, Almost)
  • 2 - God's Country
  • 3 - Cultural Wars at Columbine
  • 4 - The Peer Structure of Columbine High
  • 5 - The Other Columbine
  • 6 - Eric and Dylan
  • 7 - From Oklahoma City to Columbine
  • 8 - Dead Celebrities
  • 9 - Give Peace a Chance
  • Methodological Appendix
  • Notes
  • References
  • Index

Metadata

  • isbn
    978-1-59213-492-2
  • publisher
    Temple University Press
  • publisher place
    Philadelphia, PA
  • restrictions
    CC-BY-NC-ND
  • rights
    Copyright 2007. Available under a CC-BY-NC-ND license.
  • rights holder
    Temple University - of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Table of Contents

  • Cover Page
  • Title Page
  • Copyright Page
  • Dedication Page
  • Contents
  • 1 - Armageddon (Well, Almost)
  • 2 - God's Country
  • 3 - Cultural Wars at Columbine
  • 4 - The Peer Structure of Columbine High
  • 5 - The Other Columbine
  • 6 - Eric and Dylan
  • 7 - From Oklahoma City to Columbine
  • 8 - Dead Celebrities
  • 9 - Give Peace a Chance
  • Methodological Appendix
  • Notes
  • References
  • Index
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