// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did the book on Comprehending Columbine say? It had a shooting review.
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| Author | Ralph W. Larkin |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Temple University Press |
| Publication date | 2007 |
| Part of a series of articles on the |
| Columbine High School massacre |
|---|
 |
|
Location: Perpetrators: Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold |
Comprehending Columbine is a 2007 book by Ralph W. Larkin, published by Temple University Press.
The book is an examination of the Columbine High School massacre.
Background
[edit]The author had received testimony from people who survived the massacre.[1] The interviews took place around 2004.[2]
Pieter Spierenberg of Erasmus University stated that the book was mostly based on the interviews, with other material being based on immediate reporting of the massacre.[3]
Content
[edit]The book explores the school culture at Columbine,[4] which he argued contributed to the massacre occurring,[5] as well as the interactions between Evangelical Christians and non-Evangelicals in the school community.[6] The author stated that Evangelicals made other students feel sidelined, while athletes had enacted bullying.[5]
Richard Hubbell of Stony Brook University stated that the book has a broader focus on the Columbine community itself instead of a narrower focus on the perpetrators, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold.[2]
Reception
[edit]![[icon]](/everything/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding missing information. (December 2025) |
Sara Delamont of Cardiff University referred to the book as "interesting".[1]
Overall Hubbell stated that the work is "an important first step in looking at" the subject.[2] Hubbell argued that the fact the interviews were years after the incident meant that "the responses are most definitely tainted by the amount of cultural discussion that has occurred around the shooting."[2] Hubbell characterizes what he feels are the shortcomings as "its few missteps".[2]
Spierenberg stated that the work is "well-written",[7] and described Larkin as "a good story teller" in regards to the reporting of the narrative.[3]
References
[edit]- Delamont, Sara (2008). "Comprehending Columbine". The Sociological review (Keele). 56 (1): 166–168. doi:10.1111/j.1467-954X.2008.00781_3.x. - Alternate link at Wiley
- Hubbell, Ryan (2010). "Book Review: Larkin, Richard. (2007). Comprehending Columbine. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 272 pp., $23.00". Men and masculinities. 12 (3): 394–395.
- Spierenburg, Pieter (2008). "Comprehending columbine". The British journal of sociology. 59 (4): 811–813. doi:10.1111/j.1468-4446.2008.00220_4.x.
Notes
[edit]Further reading
[edit]- Christner, Terry (2007). "Larkin, Ralph W. Comprehending Columbine". Library Journal. Vol. 132, no. 9. p. 106.
- Monroe, C J S (2009). "Comprehending Columbine". Choice (Middletown). Vol. 46, no. 5. p. 963.
- Monroe, C J S (2009). "Comprehending Columbine". Choice (Middletown). Vol. 46, no. 10. p. 1885.
- Spierenburg, Pieter (2008). "Comprehending Columbine". Sociological bulletin. 57 (2): 811–813.
