Book excerpt: This collective volume takes a social scientific approach to the subject of violence. Violence manifests itself on different levels, often beyond our comprehension. The book comprises 15 chapters in which experts from different academic disciplines and backgrounds examine violence carefully, logically, and in a challenging way. Although it is written from South African perspectives, it is relatable to other countries. As a source aimed at local and international scholars, researchers, and peers, it invites open and critical discussion. The arguments are presented systematically, intersectionally and constructivistically. It focuses on violence as an evolutionary phenomenon; on how it effects children; on interpersonal, collective, and structural violence; on ecological violence, and on violence as metaphor, amongst others.