Rittner (Holocaust and genocide studies, Richard Stockton College of New Jersey), Roth (philosophy, Claremont McKenna College), and Smith (Aegis Trust, a UK-based NGO devoted to genocide prevention) present an overview of the field of genocide studies. Twenty-nine short essays look at problems of definition, political and psychological facets of genocide, legal institutions that can prevent genocide, and a large number of other facets of this dark side of human history.