No Easy Answers: The Truth Behind Death at Columbine High School Paperback – October 1, 2002

In light of the shooting that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary, I began to hear mention of Columbine again on the news. I was intrigued by the mention of this. I have always known about Columbine, however, I was only 7 at the time it happened so I never really understood the full story behind it. I am a college student now, and I am always disturbed by the crime reports that my university is required by law to send us whenever a crime occurs on or near campus. I have always felt saddened to hear about the Virginia Tech shooting- if it could happen there, why couldn't it happen at my college in Cincinnati? I started to feel the need to do some deeper reading on the motivations and the story behind the Columbine shooting. This book is easy to read and is written in simple prose. I believe this book would be a good source for anyone that wants to actually understand the killers, since it is written by someone who was a peer and was actually their friend.I believe one of the biggest things to take from the book should be the message to spread change through love and logic. I don't care what some other authors might say, there is bullying at every high school. I remember incidents of bullying in high school as a freshman. I especially saw it happen to some boys who were openly gay, or might just be called gay because they do not play sports. Again, not every "jock" is a bully, but the author does a good job of illustrating the cliques and social dynamics of the typical American high school.What really intrigues me about Columbine is the fact that the two boys who committed this atrocity slipped through the cracks of society. I am not saying that anyone should ever kill anyone else. I do know that people can be driven to anger by events in their life, and if they do not receive help then they can seriously hurt people with their anger. The saddest part of this to me were the many symptoms that Eric Harris displayed of violence. This was seen specifically on his website, where he often had violent rants and discussed making bombs, as well as openly threatening to kill one of his peers. When this was reported to the police, nothing was ever officially done about it. This type of violent writing should require some form of mental counseling to address it. Yet again, when the two murderers are caught breaking into a car, they are not counseled.The culture of the typical American high school is also discussed. The two murderers were described as their friend to be considered outcasts. They liked to listen to angry music, they rejected the norm of religion, and they were ostracized in their school. I do not think the things some people do made these boys kill others. Some blame music, video games, and others even blame their parents. Again, if you read this book you can at least see the real view od Dylan Klebold's family situation and make your own judgement. I think bullying and mental illness did play a roll in the behavior of these two, and I think it is something we should learn from.We should all remember Columbine and the other tragic shootings that have occurred. I beg all of you parents out there to teach your kids love and acceptance. I would also ask everyone to take time to say kind words to anyone that seems troubled. It really might change the world to treat someone with kindness and make them feel loved. This book is controversial because it really paints a picture of a vicious school system that may not be fair, as well as a legal system that proved incompetent when it could have potentially stopped a violent massacre just by using a search warrant. We should read this book and remember those that have been lost. I think this book presents a view of how to potentially stop future tragedies like this from occurring, and for that reason I would recommend it to anyone who is open minded enough to read something that not everyone will agree with. I would recommend it to teachers, students, mental health workers, and parents alike.

"No Easy Answers", first released in 2002, is a priceless book. No amount of money could ever adequately meet what it is truly worth. Why is that? First of all, it is written by Brooks Brown, who was a senior at Columbine High School in 1999. He also knew Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, though he wasn't especially close to either at the time of the shooting. Brown was also the last person besides Klebold that Eric Harris spoke to prior to beginning the shooting. Simply put, Brooks Brown experienced Columbine in a way no one else did, and if nothing else he was there. You can't match the benefit of personal experience, no matter how many years of research you do. A guy who was there can always tell you the most. Fortunately, that's what Brooks Brown does here. He tells us what he knows and values the truth over any personal considerations.That is no small feat by the way, ladies and gentlemen. Brown endured a lot even before Columbine, with his feud with Eric Harris and the strain of trying to remain friendly with Dylan Klebold at the same time. He and his family had to deal with death threats from Harris that the police did nothing about. Brown's younger brother was shot at by Harris on April 20, 1999, and he came close to losing him along with the other fellow students Brooks lost. As if this wasn't enough, Brooks was all but crucified by many people, most of all Sheriff Jeff Stone, in the aftermath. Other Columbine students turned on him, blaming him because he had been friends with Eric and Dylan, the Sheriff's department used him as a scapegoat to an unforgiveable degree, and for a long, long time nobody listened to anything Brooks or his family had to say. That he is still so willing to step forward and put stating the facts ahead of any personal feelings is an act above and beyond the call of duty. I respect that immensely.What I dislike most about Dave Cullen's "Columbine" is how Cullen seems to keep putting his own spin on things, and that if anything he covers a few butts that Brown doesn't. "Columbine" tells us what a great guy Frank DeAngelis is and how Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold just fouled up everything. "No Easy Answers" not only tells the story of Columbine and Brooks Brown's involvement before, during, and after, but it also tells the story in chronological order. I don't know about you, but for me "Columbine" was a chronological nightmare. One minute Eric Harris is shooting his classmates in the library, the next he's twelve years old.Huh?Point being, all-around "No Easy Answers" is a straightforward, even brutally honest work. That's the best way to tell such a story, I believe.I won't go into a lengthy tale of what this book contains within its 277 pages. But every single one of those close to three hundred pages is absolutely, positively worth reading. Brooks Brown gives us information that you won't find anywhere else. Perhaps the most important thing he does is this: he hasn't forgotten that Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were human beings. They were not monsters spawned from some fire-and-brimstone nightmare, destined to take the lives of thirteen others before killing themselves. Contradictory to the much-esteemed Lady Gaga, we aren't by any means born that way or this way. It was a process that led Harris and Klebold to become what they did, and recognizing this is important. Brooks Brown does so here.In conclusion, this is the one book you simply must read on the events at Columbine High School- events that, today, occurred exactly twelve years ago. "Columbine" tells us what we'd like to know."No Easy Answers" tells us what we *need* to know.