No Right to Remain Silent: What We've Learned from the Tragedy at Virginia Tech by Lucinda Roy

No Right to Remain Silent: What We've Learned From the Tragedy at Virginia Tech by Lucinda Roy, 325 pages

The month of April has many reasons to mourn and give thought to the major school shootings in American history and how they may have been prevented.  Columbine seems to me to be the first major school shooting in American history that people will never forget.  However, my mind always wanders to Virginia Tech.  The Virginia Tech Massacre happened on April 16, 2007 and as of now was one of the worst mass shootings in recent history.  It is hard to fathom how one young man could commit such a horrible crime. 

I wanted to find out more about the shooting and I discovered this book by Lucinda Roy, the former Chair of the English Department at the time of the shooting.  Although, she was not on campus that day, she does detail the path of the shooter.  What is unique about this book is Lucinda actually taught the shooter, Seung-Hui Cho and worked so very closely with him.  His writings alerted many in the English Department to the signs of mental illness that he displayed.  Lucinda tried to encourage him to go to counseling, and she warned others of his unstable thoughts.  This book is a wake up call to America to watch for the signs in potential school shooters and what our responsibility is to try and stop these incidents.  The author points out many flaws in the system and what can possibly be done in the future to prevent such acts.

Parkland by James Cullen

Parkland by Dave Cullen, 383 pages

I read Columbine by Dave Cullen and found the book very interesting, but Parkland, not so much so.  At the beginning of the book, he says he is not going to mention the killer or write about him.  But, in Columbine, if I remember it correctly, he details the shooters and their lives and how they planned the attack.  In Columbine, he also describes in great detail what happened that day.  But, Parkland was written completely different.  This book is about the survivors and how they started the March for Our Lives.  Also, the book details the students fight with Congressional leaders on the fight against the NRA.  And, how it will never happen again.  I admire these students and their drive to push for gun control.  This book should be a huge wake up call to America.