Day of Reckoning: Columbine and the Search for America's Soul

Rating:
Summary: Sensational
Review: Examining the Columbine incident with a religious analysis obtains mixed results in this case.

The author makes a point of focusing on the "15 versus 13 crosses" debate (the inclusion of two crosses for the killers caused much controversy). However, she also attempts to frame the motivations for the rampage in religious overtones - asking if and how forces of good and evil were acting on that day. This discussion lacks detail about the killers themselves apart from details gleaned from police reports (the author did not have access to the infamous pre-rampage videotapes) and some small pieces of information from schoolmates. As a result, the discussion of supernatural factors versus psychological factors seems unbalanced.

The text does work as a religious meditation, and the account of the day itself is gripping. The author succeeds in revealing the somewhat creepy religious symbolism evoked before, during, and after the shootings.

Rating:
Summary: Columbine from the Christian viewpoint.
Review: I am very glad that I read this book. It has everything that I was looking for in terms of my questions about the details of the tragedy, its aftermath and the lessons learned. The story is definitely told from the Christian point of view which I welcomed because I am a Christian with a deep faith. As I was reading it, I wondered how non-Christians would react to it. No punches are pulled. It has a definite in-your-face approach to the religious and faith issues enmeshed in the Columbine tragedy. The book is very detailed about many aspects of the event such as the blow-by-blow account of the shooting itself and the stories of the personal lives of many of those involved. The time frame includes events leading up to the shooting as well as those taking place up to a year afterwards.

The author, Wendy Murray Zoba, in addition to relating the events that transpired and their effects attempts to tackle the question of why this and similar events are occurring. Zoba approaches the question of "why?" from both the secular and religious viewpoints. On the secular side she goes into great detail about "adult abdication." I very strongly agree with what is presented but I am hesitant to summarize her arguments because I do not believe that one or two sentences could do it proper justice. The religious argument seems to get about half the book and is woven throughout the book with few exceptions. I believe that this argument also hits the mark. Going into great detail here also, Zoba makes a case for the greater battle between good and evil which permeates our lives. I found the argument to be very compelling and I strongly agree with it.

The main weaknesses that I found with this book have to do with organization and style. By the end of the book the deepest and most meaningful statements and conclusions seem to somehow get lost in the sentimental prose which attempts to add meaning but in my opinion unwittingly usurps it instead. The arguments are powerful but would probably be more convincing if better organized.

Ultimately, I do recommend this book. I believe that Zoba does a very good job considering the difficult subject matter.

Rating:
Summary: Columbine from the Christian viewpoint.
Review: I am very glad that I read this book. It has everything that I was looking for in terms of my questions about the details of the tragedy, its aftermath and the lessons learned. The story is definitely told from the Christian point of view which I welcomed because I am a Christian with a deep faith. As I was reading it, I wondered how non-Christians would react to it. No punches are pulled. It has a definite in-your-face approach to the religious and faith issues enmeshed in the Columbine tragedy. The book is very detailed about many aspects of the event such as the blow-by-blow account of the shooting itself and the stories of the personal lives of many of those involved. The time frame includes events leading up to the shooting as well as those taking place up to a year afterwards.

The author, Wendy Murray Zoba, in addition to relating the events that transpired and their effects attempts to tackle the question of why this and similar events are occurring. Zoba approaches the question of "why?" from both the secular and religious viewpoints. On the secular side she goes into great detail about "adult abdication." I very strongly agree with what is presented but I am hesitant to summarize her arguments because I do not believe that one or two sentences could do it proper justice. The religious argument seems to get about half the book and is woven throughout the book with few exceptions. I believe that this argument also hits the mark. Going into great detail here also, Zoba makes a case for the greater battle between good and evil which permeates our lives. I found the argument to be very compelling and I strongly agree with it.

The main weaknesses that I found with this book have to do with organization and style. By the end of the book the deepest and most meaningful statements and conclusions seem to somehow get lost in the sentimental prose which attempts to add meaning but in my opinion unwittingly usurps it instead. The arguments are powerful but would probably be more convincing if better organized.

Ultimately, I do recommend this book. I believe that Zoba does a very good job considering the difficult subject matter.

Rating:
Summary: An All-Right Book
Review: I think that the book is all right, since it does give some intresting info about people like Rachel, Cassie, Eric and Dylan and I do like that the author has shown at least some sympathy towards the Harris and Klebold families.

But I do think that the author should have had more info on Eric and Dylan. I'm also personally very skepticial on the notions that Cassie was the one who said "yes" and that Rachel Scott was the Rachel that was named on the "basement tapes".

Rating:
Summary: Awesome, Thorough, Zoba did her homework
Review: In Day Of Reckoning: Columbine And The Search For America's Soul, Wendy Zoba draws upon her experience and expertise as an award-winning journalist to separate fact from fiction to present an informative account and compelling assessment of one of the most startling contemporary tragedies to shock the American public because of its very nature and place -- the deliberate mass murder of children by children within the context of a public school on April 20, 1999. Day Of Reckoning is a careful, literature, accurate account of confusing, controversial events. But it is also a deeply moving and ultimately inspiring and motivating testament of the need for love, tolerance, and the infusion of spiritual values to overcome the isolation, alienation, apathy, and violence of today's secular society that can erupt anywhere and at anytime.

Rating:
Summary: saturated with religious fat
Review: Like others said before, the book does shed some light on the characters involved and affected by the massacure but the author's religious beliefs sometimes outshine the subject matter. Her stance on the shooters is at least somewhat sympathetic so I praise her for not making them out to be one-dimensional human beings with the KILLKILLKILL feelings dominating their personalities. But her writing is often punctuated with other's words and not her own.
Also, the whole pretending she's a columbine mother is rather annoying as well. So, if you're a seasoned columbine expert you don't need this book but if you're curious and just recently got interested in columbine/don't know your information/whatever the book would be good to check out from the library(but don't buy it!) its a waste of money.

Rating:
Summary: Different angle on tragedy
Review: Strengths of Zoba's account of the Columbine tragedy are the numerous firsthand accounts of the event from the people who were affected most: the parents of victims and the friends and classmates of the students who were killed. In addition, the recreation of events at the high school that day from the perspective of students and adults who were involved offers details that are both chilling and powerful. Because of the author's decision to focus on how Christian faith affected the victims, their friends, and their families before and after the killings, she tends to concentrate on the stories of the Christian students and their families and we learn less about the other victims as a result.

The heavy focus on the question of whether or not Cassie Bernall said "yes" when asked if she believed in God and was killed as a result detracts from other issues in the story, as does the chapter devoted to the placement and removal of the 15 memorial crosses. Although these are part of the Christian angle the author is taking in examining the tragedy, they failed to convince this reader that this was a story about the loss of soul in America--the problem that resulted in the Columbine tragedy can hardly be simplified to just a loss or lack of faith in the killers or their community.

Non-Christian reades like myself may be put off by the point of view the author takes, but there is much to discuss and learn from the book, particularly in the portions where Zoba attends to the other issues--such as the culture that produces kids who kill and the actions of law enforcement officials on the day of the shooting. As more is written about the Columbine tragedy, this book will offer a useful alternative perspective that is likely to be ignored in mainstream publications and media.

Rating:
Summary: Good but a question at begining
Review: the book was good. very nice details about the day of the shootings. but what struck me as odd is that in the first sentence of chapter 1 ( you can see the page on this site) she says 15 died, yet on the back cover shes says that 13 died. any help with this one?

Rating:
Summary: It is a ok book about Columbine
Review: This is a ok book about columbine. I am olny giving it 3 stars because it was to religious for me. I would read the parts on the details of what happened at columbine and skip all the religious stuff. It does tell you interesting facts about eric and Dylan.
It also tells what it was like for the author to visit the area, see the Graves and the school. It talks about Rachels Life and Cassies and tells there storys .