Tantra! This word evokes a multitude of emotions among us, almost all of which have been mentioned in the name of this book. They are~ Sex, Secrecy, Politics and Power. While there are numerous books delving on these aspects of Tantra or our perceptions regarding them, this book goes a step further in its ambition. It tries to actually understand why and how we feel fascinated by this system— doing so in a very compact and yet readable manner.The book begins with an extremely important 'Introduction', where academic views which views Tantra in a very disparaging manner are summarised as 'Diagnosing the "Disease" of Tantra'. It's followed up by the following chapters~1. The Golden Age of the Vedas and the Dark Age of Kali: Tantrism, Orientalism, and the Bengal Renaissance;2. Sacrificing White Goats to the Goddess: Tantra and Political Violence in Colonial India;3. India's Darkest Heart: Tantra in the Literary Imagination;4. Deodorised Tantra: Sex, Scandal, Secrecy, and Censorship in the Works of John Woodroffe and Swami Vivekananda;5. Religion for the Age of Darkness: Tantra and the History of Religions in the Twentieth Century6. The Cult of Ecstasy: Meldings of East and West in a New Age of TantraThe author sums up his arguments with a 'Conclusion' where he describes 'Reimagining Tantra in Contemporary Discourse'. A the end we have elaborate and comprehensive Notes and an extremely helpful Bibliography & Index.Overall, I found this book to be an under-appreciated jewel. In my humble opinion, it does a far better job in capturing the historic perpectives of rise of Tantra in Bengal and Bengali intelligentsia than the much vaunted "Revelry, Rivalry, and Longing for the Goddesses of Bengal: The Fortunes of Hindu Festivals" by Rachel Fell McDermott. It also gives a refreshingly modern and people-centric view of Tantra which is honest, harsh, and yet humane.If you are interested in studying about any aspect of Tantra, then this is an essential read, in my opinion. Highly recommended.