Christian Bök reviews William Vollman's Rising Up and Rising Down in the Globe and Mail:

Vollman suggests that violence constitutes a so far unenshrined, but no less inalienable, human right, and he enumerates four conditions under which the self might justifiably choose to exercise such a right: first, when defending oneself from violence; second, when defending another from violence; third, when deciding to commit suicide; and fourth, when deciding to euthanize another. Vollman studies the historical rationales used by different societies in order to defend their right to commit such violent actions. (Link via Splinters)