The Beast Within: Why Men Are Violent

Robert B. MacIntyre, a former professor of psychology at the Ontario
Institute for Studies in Education, is head of the Centre for
Relationship Therapy and Education in Orangeville, Ontario.

The central thesis of this book is that male violence is grounded not in
environment, but in biology, genetics, and evolutionary history. Boyd, a
professor of criminology, presents compelling data showing that men
commit 90 percent of violent crime, a figure that holds across countries
and in different time periods. His strategies for reducing male violence
include acknowledging the connection between male violence—whether
directed against women or other men—and sexual issues and conflicts;
challenging the glorification of male violence in some video games,
movies, books, and sports; and supporting children who are at risk for
violent behavior, rather than marginalizing them as is the tendency
under zero-tolerance policies. This thoughtful book is recommended for
those interested in the biological, evolutionary, and historical roots
of our violent society, and in ways of ameliorating it.