IN A HISTORICAL SURVEY THAT EMPHASIZES THE JANUS-FACED QUALITY OF AMERICAN VIOLENCE, THE VARIED LEGACY OF SUCH VIOLENCE, INCLUDING FAMILY AND CLAN FEUDS, POLITICAL ASSASSINATION, AND CLASS AND RACIAL WARFARE ARE DESCRIBED. A SECOND CHAPTER DEFINES AND ANALYZES PATTERNS OF PROTEST AND REBELLION IN 87 OF THE LARGER COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD DURING THE 1960'S. NEXT PRESENTED IS AN ANALYSIS OF COLLECTIVE VIOLENCE FROM A EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE; A COMPARISON OF THE CULTURAL EVOLUTIONS OF THE IMMIGRANT SOCIETIES OF LATIN AMERICA, THE UNITED STATES, CANADA, SOUTH AFRICA, ASIA, AND AUSTRALIA; AND AN EXPLORATION OF VIOLENCE IN AMERICAN LITERATURE AND FOLKLORE. SIX SPECIFIC ISSUES WHICH HAVE GIVEN RISE TO VIOLENT CONFLICT IN AMERICA ARE ALSO ADDRESSED, INCLUDING WORKERS' RIGHTS, RACE RELATIONS, OPPOSITION TO WAR, THE RIGHTS OF AMERICAN INDIANS, PUBLIC ORDER ON THE FRONTIER, AND REVOLUTIONARY CHANGE. OTHER CHAPTERS ADVANCE STRIKING AND HIGHLY CONTROVERSIAL INTERPRETATIONS OF COMMON HISTORICAL CRIME WAVES IN WESTERN SOCIETY, THE CAUSES OF THE APPARENT DECLINE OF SERIOUS CRIME IN THE UNITED STATES IN THE LATE 1970'S, AND CULTURAL EXPLANATIONS OF MURDER AND SUICIDE. FINALLY, SOME ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATIONS OF THE PROCESSES OF REBELLION AND ADJUSTMENT ARE SUGGESTED. CONCLUSIONS ARE DRAWN ON THE COEXISTENCE OF VIOLENCE AND INSTITUTIONAL STABILITY IN THE UNITED STATES AND WESTERN EUROPE AND ON ALTERNATIVE STRATEGIES OF RESPONSE TO POLITICAL VIOLENCE AND ON ALTERNATIVE STRATEGIES OF RESPONSE TO POLITICAL VIOLENCE IN DEMOCRATIC SOCIETIES. NOTES ARE PROVIDED FOR EACH CHAPTER. TABULAR DATA AND AN INDEX ARE GIVEN. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)