Russell Jacoby argues that violence erupts most often, and most savagely, between those of us most closely related. Weaving together the biblical story of Cain and Abel, Freud's "narcissism of minor differences," insights on anti-Semitism and misogyny, as well as fresh analyses of "civil" bloodbaths from the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre in the sixteenth century to genocide and terrorism in our own time, Jacoby turns history inside out to offer a provocative new understanding of violent confrontation over the centuries.

Includes bibliographical references and index.