Thinking about Violence, and Columbine

All violence, all that is dreary and repels, is not power, but the absence of power. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

COLUMBINE
by Dave Cullen
Publisher: Twelve (2009)
a review from Adam Wilson, published on his blog,"Letters on Pages."

Quickly…what do you know about the Columbine school shootings from 10 years ago? Here’s what I knew: The shooters snapped one day and went on a rampage; they were picked on a lot by the school jocks and, therefore, targeted them, their family lives were horrendous and they chose April 20th because of Hitler’s birthday. Is that about the same as your list? Well, if so…we were wrong, and this book proves it.

• Read Adams complete review here.

CEREMONIAL VIOLENCE:
A Psychological Explanation of School Shootings
By Jonathan Fast
333 pp. The Overlook Press $25.95
Reviewed by Roger Poppen for The Internet Review of Books

The emergence of school shooting rampages in the latter part of the 20th Century is an alarming feature of our society. Jonathan Fast, professor of social work at Yeshiva University, presents an analysis of factors related to these tragedies. His stated purpose “has less to do with reducing adolescent deaths than with understanding aspects of certain types of terrorism ” He believes these shootings are related to other kinds of “predatory mass murder,” the understanding of which is an essential task for the global community.

• Read Roger's complete review here.