Brown and Merritt’s clear, cutting prose thoughtfully examines the violence committed the morning of April 20, 1999 and how it was merely part of the true tragedy of Columbine.         Brown’s rocky friendship with Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold allows him to render their humanity, making it all the more chilling when Harris says placidly, “Brooks I like you now, get out of here, go home.” [3] 

        By giving us a taste in section one (Columbine) of the events of that day, the authors can then describe all that lead up to this event with a daunting sense of tension that colors every action both Klebold and Harris make. Actions like Klebold being an expert at planned kills in “Duke-Nukem” [38] and Harris finding “a fun way to pass the slower hours at work: setting off dry ice bombs.” [69] Brown explains how Klebold began to distance himself from friends, work, and school. Harris became more outwardly angry by devising a code to live by, “I am the law, you don’t like it, you die.” [83] 

        Section two (The Aftermath) follows any parent or teen in tears with a menagerie of microphones, candles, and blame. But for Brown “there were no answers to be found” [157] in those first few days and years later what has changed isn’t what should have. Brown’s style is conversional and Merritt’s is journalistic. Together they turn senseless murder into the human propensity not to listen and make it vivid and terrifying.