The series of volumes on Social Issues and Interventions launched in 2006 represents a joint effort of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI) and Wiley-Blackwell. Consistent with SPSSI’s dual mission of encouraging systematic research on current social issues and bringing the findings of social psychological research to bear on public policy, the goal of the series is to help fill the gap between basic research on social issues and translation into social policy and program interventions. As the inaugural volume in the series, Explaining the Breakdown of Ethnic Relations: Why Neighbors Kill fulfills the purposes envisioned for this venture and provides a model for bringing together multiple perspectives to focus on a compelling and critically important social issue. Horrific examples of intergroup violence within divided societies have been prominent in media coverage from all parts of the world. Dramatic events lead us to search for dramatic causes, but as much of the content of this volume makes clear, subtle psychological biases and social psychological processes can have massive emergent consequences. The chapters in this volume approach the problem from distinct vantage points, each of which provides unique insights on the nature of violent conflict. As the authors acknowledge, this volume does not address the best of human nature. It is a strength of the book that the editors and chapter authors address this head-on and, when appropriate, do consider when intervention and social change may be possible. There are powerful messages here that should be of interest and relevance to social scientists and policy-makers alike.