Part I contains three chapters that discuss various aspects of aggression in children, so as to show some of the developmental origins of adult male violence. Topics discussed are the relationship between playful and aggressive fighting in children, adolescents, and adults; aggression and dominance in the social world of boys; and bullying in schools and the issue of sex differences. Part II contains three chapters on male violence toward other men. In discussing the male gang, one chapter reviews North American studies on the various views of gangs held by researchers since early in this century. Another chapter considers violent disputes between pairs or small groups of men. A third chapter adopts a historical and cross-cultural perspective in considering the values of men who adopt the warrior role. It shows that warrior values are linked with concepts of masculinity and that such values are widespread among young adult males in nonstate subsistence cultures. Part III contains five chapters on male violence toward women and children. A chapter on "relationship aggression" examines both physical and sexual aggression in a discussion of the importance of the cultural background for understanding the significance of these acts. Other chapters address an interactional perspective of marital violence, characteristics of typical perpetrators of sexual violence against women, factors in the male abuse of children, and sexual abuse of children by males. The concluding section presents six chapters on explanations and theoretical perspectives of male violence. Topics considered are genetic and hormonal influences on male violence, the evolutionary psychology of male violence, traditional socialization theories of violence, power and male violence, men and the meaning of violence, and an integration of explanations for male violence. 1 figure, 17 tables, chapter references, and name and subject indexes