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Newton: An American Tragedy (2013)

by Matthew Lysiak(Favorite Author)

3.75 of 5 Votes: 5

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Gallery Books

review 1: The book does not have any references or footnotes. It reads more like a long newspaper or magazine article, but not a well-researched account of events. In contrast to "Columbine" which has an extensive appendix and has a detailed factual account of events and the change it brought to how law enforcement deals with shootings of this nature, I didn't feel that any new or reliable information was presented in this book. It seems to rely on the emotion language used by 24 hour news networks and thus makes me question the thoroughness of the authors research into the background of the shooter.
review 2: I started this book last night and finished it today. Mr Lysiak does a wonderful job of presenting this American Tragedy in a thoughtful light. It is easy to point... more fingers at multiple people as you learn about Adam Lanza and his longterm mental health condition. Who was to blame? His mom who tried to get him help while reinforcing his antisocial behavior? We cannot ask her because she was Adam's first victim. Or was it the video game industry who sells violent games to young people, making killing a good thing? Maybe it was the medical community as well as the mental health community who do little to help people with brain issues. Or could it be the weapons industry who make it easy for disturbed individuals to get their hands on weapons? After looking at all these issues, we come to think that maybe it was just pure evil? Evil is something enlightened Americans choose to ignore as a problem in our country. The book explores the perpetrator's life but it focuses more on the real victims of Newtown...the students and teachers who died on that terrible December day. Mr Lysiak takes us into the homes of the children. We get to know their families and their morning routine. Several stated that December 14th was a beautiful day. Families got up, ate breakfasts, sent their little ones off to school anticipating the Christmas holidays. It was to be a joyful day at Sandy Hook Elementary as the younger grades were to make gingerbread houses with their parents that afternoon. As the story unfolds, it is one that will bring tears to your eyes as you read about brave teachers and students who sheltered together while the gunman raged. Teachers sacrificed their lives to protect the young children. In one class the teacher and the students were all huddled together...dead. We see this community come together to bury their dead and as they try to move on with their lives. One of the saddest things to me was the fact that the school intercom had been left on so all the classes heard what happened that morning. Many of the survivors have suffered with Post Traumatic Stress. The first responders, police and firemen were devastated by what they found in those class rooms. Visions that can never be erased from the mind. Many questions but no concrete answers are found in the book...Mr Lysiak would not presume to have an answer for this. He relates the story as it was told to him by the people of Newtown, Connecticut. I think we could all benefit from the motto of the slain principal, Dawn Hochsprung who always encouraged her staff and students , "Be nice to each other." less

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