Violence, of one kind or another, is more and more obviously a dimension of everybody's existence, and no wonder it has become a major topic in contemporary thought and research. Yet, because of its deep impact, it needs to be tackled with utmost care even in the impersonal scholarly study. If one just takes up the latest research tool (be it structuralist, deconstructionist, Foucauldian, Saidian, and so forth) and applies it mechanically to dissect the bloody repression of an anti-totalitarian uprising, a rape, a form of genocide, reeducation through torture, or an instance of pseudo-religious sacrifice, something will be lost. The "latest academic book" may prove entirely non-instrumental if its novel tenets and findings are not filtered through one's own discerning thought. To study violence a degree of critical involvement can never be missing.