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April 16th: Virginia Tech Remembers
A gripping, emotional account of the worst school shooting in United States history, told by those who lived through it Monday, April 16, 2007 started like any other Monday at Virginia Tech, with professors and students preparing for another busy week of classes. However, word quickly circulated of a shooting in the dorms - and the gunman was still loose. The campus went into lockdown, and as the gruesome events unfolded in Norris Hall, a group of journalism students trapped in a nearby building transmitted stories and updates to the student-run website, PlanetBlacksburg.com. Now, these students, together with their journalism instructor and members of the Virginia Tech community, have documented the events of that day. April 16 Virginia Tech Remembers gives a voice to the students, faculty, and staff who lived through the shooting, and serves as a memorial for the 32 victims. The book also describes the onslaught of media coverage that immediately followed, and reveals the remarkable resilience of the students of Virginia Tech throughout the entire ordeal.
324 pages, Paperback
First published August 28, 2007
16 people are currently reading
237 people want to read
About the author
Roland Lazenby
72 books196 followersRoland Lazenby is an American sportswriter and educator.
Lazenby has written more than five dozen nonfiction books, mainly about basketball and American football. He has also contributed articles to magazines and newspapers.
Lazenby's book Bull Run! was named Sports Book of the Year for 1997 by the Independent Publishers Association.
Lazenby studied at Virginia Military Institute and Hollins University, and has been a member of Virginia Tech's Department of Communication and Radford University's School of Communication. A group of students from his media writing class compiled the book April 16th: Virginia Tech Remembers (2007), an account of the Virginia Tech massacre. Lazenby served as editor.
In 2005, Lazenby and Andrew Mager created Planet Blacksburg, a student organization that focuses on new media, journalism, and publishing.
Lazenby has written more than five dozen nonfiction books, mainly about basketball and American football. He has also contributed articles to magazines and newspapers.
Lazenby's book Bull Run! was named Sports Book of the Year for 1997 by the Independent Publishers Association.
Lazenby studied at Virginia Military Institute and Hollins University, and has been a member of Virginia Tech's Department of Communication and Radford University's School of Communication. A group of students from his media writing class compiled the book April 16th: Virginia Tech Remembers (2007), an account of the Virginia Tech massacre. Lazenby served as editor.
In 2005, Lazenby and Andrew Mager created Planet Blacksburg, a student organization that focuses on new media, journalism, and publishing.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
April 22, 2017
Absolutely exemplary work here by Virginia Tech journalism professor Roland Lazenby and his Virginia Tech journalists, memorializing the 32 shooting victims, revealing the mental illness and actions of their killer, and detailing the chronological events and experiences from witnesses of this senseless and inexplicable day. It's been ten years this April 16th since this shooting occurred. This brave, compassionate book was published amazingly two months after these souls perished and while the Virginia Tech community healed.
One of the victims was Holocaust survivor and Engineering Science and Mechanics Professor Liviu Librescu. He blocked his classroom door while ordering his students to flee out the windows. He was killed, shot through his classroom door as he leaned against it. Fellow Holocaust survivor Robert Heller and colleague of Librescu's states, "Never again; we will never allow someone to do something that we will not defend," solidifying Librescu's heroic actions to save his students. Librescu's passing from this violence at V Tech ironically happened on Yom Hashoa, the day in which Jews all over the world remember the horrors of the Holocaust, also known as Holocaust Remembrance Day.
This is an anger-inducing, heartbreaking read.
One of the victims was Holocaust survivor and Engineering Science and Mechanics Professor Liviu Librescu. He blocked his classroom door while ordering his students to flee out the windows. He was killed, shot through his classroom door as he leaned against it. Fellow Holocaust survivor Robert Heller and colleague of Librescu's states, "Never again; we will never allow someone to do something that we will not defend," solidifying Librescu's heroic actions to save his students. Librescu's passing from this violence at V Tech ironically happened on Yom Hashoa, the day in which Jews all over the world remember the horrors of the Holocaust, also known as Holocaust Remembrance Day.
This is an anger-inducing, heartbreaking read.
April 16, 2010
You will notice that I do not mention any author for this book. If you look at the book cover, there is no author mentioned. This book was edited by Roland Lazenby, a faculty member at Virginia Tech's Department of Communication based on several eye-witness accounts and interviews. A few students from his media writing class were also involved in gathering news of the tragedy as it unfolded, and this book is compiled from those new items as well.
My opinion
April 16th: Virginia Tech Remembers is a record of the events of that tragic day when Seung-Hui Cho killed 27 students and 5 faculty members. It is not a book analyzing the right and wrong decisions that were taken on that fateful day. For that I am thankful. A lot has been said and publicized about this event that this shooting requires no introduction. I won't be bringing up that event in this post, but only what I thought about this book. For those of you interested in knowing what happened, check out some of these archives.
Over the past three years, I have read a lot of articles about this shooting. Eye-witness accounts, survivor accounts. Interviews with parents, police and university officials. The suits filed against Virginia Tech. I was hoping this book will not go into any of the sad events that followed the shooting. I was looking for an account of that day and the following few hours. I was sure I will be crying. What I didn't expect was that this book would also have me feeling uplifted.
The start is very powerful. There were so many parts that were very hard to read. By now, I already knew the names of most of the victims and survivors. Hence, reading wasn't easy. But amidst the deaths, there were several stories of heroism and courage - in how Holocaust survivor, Liviu Librescu persuaded his students to escape while he barricaded the door; in how Kevin Granata decided to go downstairs and try to prevent the shootings; in how the students of some classes held the door closed to prevent the shooter entry; in how they helped their classmates through the terror that lasted just 10 minutes but felt like a lifetime; in how they tried to stop themselves and their friends from bleeding to death through their injuries.
The book also includes accounts of how Roland Lazenby's class of students in another building set up an improvised news center to report the tragedy to the world outside with accurate information as and when available. It shows how some of the survivors managed to battle their demons and fears after the shooting. It gave a glimpse of how one pair of parents tried to find solace and comfort in their late daughter's belief of forgiveness. It showed how the media exploited the event and the outpouring of sadness to sell some sensational stories. In all these events, I managed to see hope. Hope for the future, hope for the community, hope for recovery. It has been three years but this is not something that will ever be forgotten at Virginia Tech.
Overall, this is a book that I will strongly recommend. I did have fears that I will not be able to read it or that I will feel depressed at the end. On the contrary, this book gave me closure. It is in so many ways a means to give hope and trust to the reader.
My opinion
April 16th: Virginia Tech Remembers is a record of the events of that tragic day when Seung-Hui Cho killed 27 students and 5 faculty members. It is not a book analyzing the right and wrong decisions that were taken on that fateful day. For that I am thankful. A lot has been said and publicized about this event that this shooting requires no introduction. I won't be bringing up that event in this post, but only what I thought about this book. For those of you interested in knowing what happened, check out some of these archives.
Over the past three years, I have read a lot of articles about this shooting. Eye-witness accounts, survivor accounts. Interviews with parents, police and university officials. The suits filed against Virginia Tech. I was hoping this book will not go into any of the sad events that followed the shooting. I was looking for an account of that day and the following few hours. I was sure I will be crying. What I didn't expect was that this book would also have me feeling uplifted.
The start is very powerful. There were so many parts that were very hard to read. By now, I already knew the names of most of the victims and survivors. Hence, reading wasn't easy. But amidst the deaths, there were several stories of heroism and courage - in how Holocaust survivor, Liviu Librescu persuaded his students to escape while he barricaded the door; in how Kevin Granata decided to go downstairs and try to prevent the shootings; in how the students of some classes held the door closed to prevent the shooter entry; in how they helped their classmates through the terror that lasted just 10 minutes but felt like a lifetime; in how they tried to stop themselves and their friends from bleeding to death through their injuries.
The book also includes accounts of how Roland Lazenby's class of students in another building set up an improvised news center to report the tragedy to the world outside with accurate information as and when available. It shows how some of the survivors managed to battle their demons and fears after the shooting. It gave a glimpse of how one pair of parents tried to find solace and comfort in their late daughter's belief of forgiveness. It showed how the media exploited the event and the outpouring of sadness to sell some sensational stories. In all these events, I managed to see hope. Hope for the future, hope for the community, hope for recovery. It has been three years but this is not something that will ever be forgotten at Virginia Tech.
Overall, this is a book that I will strongly recommend. I did have fears that I will not be able to read it or that I will feel depressed at the end. On the contrary, this book gave me closure. It is in so many ways a means to give hope and trust to the reader.
April 28, 2022
A fantastic and reverent tribute to the events of April 16th. I found it a bit chilling given that it happened right in my own state, not two years before I would embark on my collegiate journey, with many victims from the NoVA area, and my very own sister attending Tech 5 years later. Gives new meaning to the phrase, "Close to home."
I think what I appreciate about this book is that they do spend some time explaining the events and the background, but they spend a larger amount of time focusing on the school as a whole and the victims. Given that it was written by journalism students from Tech, it's not a surprise. It's almost as if the explanation of events gives deeper meaning to the rest of the tributes in the book, which stylistically is a really cool move. While there is time and a place for psychological analysis and delving into true crime, this book was not it, which I felt was very appropriate.
I think what I appreciate about this book is that they do spend some time explaining the events and the background, but they spend a larger amount of time focusing on the school as a whole and the victims. Given that it was written by journalism students from Tech, it's not a surprise. It's almost as if the explanation of events gives deeper meaning to the rest of the tributes in the book, which stylistically is a really cool move. While there is time and a place for psychological analysis and delving into true crime, this book was not it, which I felt was very appropriate.
April 7, 2023
This one falls into an un-rate-able category. It can't be evaluated the same way a work of literature, poetry, a play, can. It's a real visceral account by journalists and people close to what happened that day.
This book is vital and precious all it's own, because, in large part it's a living, breathing account of all the lives swallowed by darkness on a Monday morning.
The light that breaks the darkness is the memorials, tributes, stories, and documents of lives that don't just live as martyrs, but testaments to love, devotion, laughter that are lives well lived that carry that goodness when others read it. Maybe, hopefully, someone very hurt will read this and heal themselves through the beautiful stories of these lives.
This book is vital and precious all it's own, because, in large part it's a living, breathing account of all the lives swallowed by darkness on a Monday morning.
The light that breaks the darkness is the memorials, tributes, stories, and documents of lives that don't just live as martyrs, but testaments to love, devotion, laughter that are lives well lived that carry that goodness when others read it. Maybe, hopefully, someone very hurt will read this and heal themselves through the beautiful stories of these lives.
September 18, 2025
I thought this book was better than the first one I read. It's hard to believe this happened. It's a tragic story. May all those who died that day find peace now.
March 5, 2017
There are moments you can tell this was put together by college students, but that doesn't take away that there are some very poignant moments captured here.
October 24, 2011
"April 16th Virginia Tech Remembers" is about the 31+1 students who were killed during a campus shooting rampage in 2007.
The first third of the book is a 'oral history' format. Hokie journalism students at the time of the shootings assembled witness accounts, their first hand testimonies, and major media stories - into a linear telling of the events of April 16, and the media chaos in the days that followed.
The middle third of the book contains a memorial to each of the victims. Reflections and reminiscing tales collected from a wide variety of sources - interviews with students' parents to Facebook postings - woven to offer personal glimpses at the lives of each of the slain.
The final third is the impact to the University and the challenge to the Engineering department as a result of the location of the killings . . . Norris Hall, also home to numerous high tech laboratories.
"April 16th Virginia Tech Remembers" is very easy to read; often contradictory as view points of events are shared from different perspectives; and highly emotional. I had everything from damp eyes to streaming tears for at least 270 of the 324 pages.
I have been left with a few clear impressions. First, excellent job by a group of students - how tough it must have been, as their world was erupting around them into chaos - to stay focused and provide 'real' information. And even more impressive was the ability to talk to friends and family about their losses while preparing the various memorial bios. Second, the book has a feeling of catharsis. There will be those who may not like how the book is written, the fact that it doesn't attack somebody or attempt to assign blame, but as simply as possible, lets the story be told and how it is told is how it should be. Finally, as a Virginia Tech alum, it is with great pride and no surprise to read how the Community pulled together. Go Hokies!
The first third of the book is a 'oral history' format. Hokie journalism students at the time of the shootings assembled witness accounts, their first hand testimonies, and major media stories - into a linear telling of the events of April 16, and the media chaos in the days that followed.
The middle third of the book contains a memorial to each of the victims. Reflections and reminiscing tales collected from a wide variety of sources - interviews with students' parents to Facebook postings - woven to offer personal glimpses at the lives of each of the slain.
The final third is the impact to the University and the challenge to the Engineering department as a result of the location of the killings . . . Norris Hall, also home to numerous high tech laboratories.
"April 16th Virginia Tech Remembers" is very easy to read; often contradictory as view points of events are shared from different perspectives; and highly emotional. I had everything from damp eyes to streaming tears for at least 270 of the 324 pages.
I have been left with a few clear impressions. First, excellent job by a group of students - how tough it must have been, as their world was erupting around them into chaos - to stay focused and provide 'real' information. And even more impressive was the ability to talk to friends and family about their losses while preparing the various memorial bios. Second, the book has a feeling of catharsis. There will be those who may not like how the book is written, the fact that it doesn't attack somebody or attempt to assign blame, but as simply as possible, lets the story be told and how it is told is how it should be. Finally, as a Virginia Tech alum, it is with great pride and no surprise to read how the Community pulled together. Go Hokies!
June 5, 2016
This book was very poignant in many ways. The loss of lives, both young college students with their lives ahead of them, and brilliant Professors who contributed to these students, was extremely sad, and to hear it from the students brought a new perspective. One section of the book focused on the victim's obituaries, which really showed that those killed weren't mere statistics-they we're real students and professors, all innocent. One particularly touching victim was a 76 year old professor who was a Holocaust survivor-he died saving the lives of students in his class. (One of his colleagues mentioned that as a Holocaust survivor, he felt an obligation to protect others from evil).
A really interesting section talked of the aftermath-how there we're arguments of if the engineering building (where the shootings happened) should continued to be used, or if the whole operation should be moved-altering labs which are unique to VT.
That said, I found the book somewhat unsatisfying. Everyone mentioned their love for VT after the shooting-but how they feel before hand. Why did they attend Virginia Tech? Did parents and grandparents go there and it was in the family, or was it where these folks always wanted to go? To know how people viewed their school before the shooting would have helped me understand. Plus, it would have been nice to know how these reporters really felt during the shooting and aftermath. Scared/depressed? Not enough attention was given to this.
A really interesting section talked of the aftermath-how there we're arguments of if the engineering building (where the shootings happened) should continued to be used, or if the whole operation should be moved-altering labs which are unique to VT.
That said, I found the book somewhat unsatisfying. Everyone mentioned their love for VT after the shooting-but how they feel before hand. Why did they attend Virginia Tech? Did parents and grandparents go there and it was in the family, or was it where these folks always wanted to go? To know how people viewed their school before the shooting would have helped me understand. Plus, it would have been nice to know how these reporters really felt during the shooting and aftermath. Scared/depressed? Not enough attention was given to this.
July 8, 2008
A necessary documentation of a tragedy from the perspective of the students, faculty and campus journalists at VT. Hopefully writings such as this which focus on healing the community will help students, faculty, staff and residents of Blacksburg.
This title is also quite revealing of the nature of the mass media in their attempts to get a "story."
Good on the campus journalists for handling situations as well as they did. Go Hokies!
This title is also quite revealing of the nature of the mass media in their attempts to get a "story."
Good on the campus journalists for handling situations as well as they did. Go Hokies!
January 15, 2012
I was able to read this book in one sitting. Lazenby does a great job of bringing together all these people stories and viewpoints of that day at Virginia Tech. Some of the content would not be suitable for younger children, but this book could be used in a highschool or a college course.
September 13, 2022
#151
FS: "The scenario is destined to be studied in crisis management and law enforcement circles for years to come: Police are called to a major college campus to investigate an early-morning shooting in a large dorm."
LS:
FS: "The scenario is destined to be studied in crisis management and law enforcement circles for years to come: Police are called to a major college campus to investigate an early-morning shooting in a large dorm."
LS:
October 29, 2007
Something told me that this book was written too
quickly. It was. It appears it was thrown together
to make money.
quickly. It was. It appears it was thrown together
to make money.
March 17, 2008
Here is an amazing account of what really happened all over Blacksburg last spring. A must read! Get your hankies too. It's written by students who were on campus that fateful day.
April 29, 2009
The student journalism in this book is what made it shine.
October 8, 2010
Tragedy tends to bring out the cheese in so many writers, and that's definitely the case here, but it's still a pretty gripping look at the shootings and their aftermath.
August 7, 2014
I empathized with the victims of the tragedy. This is a raw read.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews