This is the ninth volume in the Violence, Desires, and the Sacred series, which is focused on mimetic theory across disciplines. Central to much of mimetic theory, especially in regard to mimetic theory and sacrifice, is the work of Rene Girard. At its core Girard's mimetic insight holds that competition and violence are the inevitable outcome of communal human interaction. For Girard, mimetic desire leads to communal aggression, which only finds a societal pressure valve in the process of scapegoating. This sacrificial scapegoat restores harmony and eventually becomes the source of our concept of the sacred. Hence, in this argument, sacrifice is the founding action from which religion arises. Such inherent violence is unsustainable in the long term and so becomes incorporated into less destructive cultural pathways as the source of ritual and the ground of myth.

This volume is a rich and insightful reflection upon sacrifice. With breadth and depth extending across academic disciplines from evolutionary biology through theology and economic theory, the authors expand sacrifice beyond the violent act of Girard's definition to include the selfless act of giving oneself for another's benefit. Throughout the text there are both acknowledgment of the development and subtlety of Girard's own thought, especially toward the end of his life, and eloquent arguments that advance the exploration of sacrifice as an act of compassion, covenant, and donation. Again, such arguments are made first through evolutionary theory (self-sacrifice as a result of cooperative communal behavior over thousands of generations that lays a genetic foundation for such social behavior) that predates the violence of Girard's understanding of sacrifice. Theologically, this is explored in terms of relationship and covenant, as self-gift, as donative act of love, and as creative movement of forgiveness. As well, there are essays from the disciplines of military theory and masculinity, politics, and economics that explore Girard's thesis. All of these are skillfully edited by Marcia Pally, who provides both the introduction and conclusion to the whole text, to each chapter, as well as authoring an essential chapter on sacrifice and covenant.

A book best suited for library reference due to cost, its content lends itself easily to graduate seminars across disciplines including anthropology, theology, hermeneutics, philosophy, economics, and politics to name just a few. From a theological perspective, this text offers much for the graduate seminar, especially for the study of sacrament and sacrifice. Though the topic of sacrifice in the context of the Eucharist is not addressed here, this text will certainly provide further opportunity to draw in such concepts and deepen these discussions. There is always further theological conversation to be had on the soteriological and eschatological fronts regarding the endpoint of Girard's mimetic trajectory, that the transformative sacrifice of the cross and its reversal of the violence of the scapegoating mechanism is the door to ultimate peace. Many of the essays in this text would be helpful in furthering this conversation as they contrast Girard's endpoint with an examination of the transformative nature of the cross event and the social justice ramifications for all the baptized. In conclusion, the text is a nuanced and thoughtful collection of essays that both draw on Girard's mimetic theory of sacrifice and move beyond its tendency of broad universal generalizations to provide a cross-disciplinary resource for graduate level discussion. The cost of the text places it in the realm of library reference rather than as a book for personal student use.