Chatterji's "Anandamath" helped create the atmosphere and the symbolism for the nationalist movement leading to Indian independence in 1947. This book not only provides an English translation of this important work, but also supplies an introduction, contextualizing the novel and its cultural and political history. His translation is competent, and his introduction and critical apparatus informative, objective and unpedantic. Not only is he an impressive scholar, he draws effectively on Bengali artistic, linguistic and literary sources, as well as historical and political sources.