'Insanely readable! I loved it' Slavoj iek A delightfully thought-provoking study of why
we have sex from award-winning psychoanalyst Darian Leader 'It was just sex.' It's a
familiar claim. But is it really possible? The old idea that sexuality is a smouldering
animalistic force within us desperate for release yet restrained by social forces has little
to support it. Bodies aren't just sticks that make fire when you rub them together and the
pain heartache and regret that can accompany the highs of sexual excitement show us that much
more is at stake. So what are we really thinking about when we think about sex? And what are
we really doing when we do it? As acclaimed psychoanalyst Darian Leader argues with his
trademark clarity energy and wit there is no such thing as 'just sex'. It is always about so
much more than that - about phantasy anxiety guilt revenge violence love - and Leader
draws on his analytic experience historical research and case studies to explore their
importance to every aspect of our sexual lives. ' One of our most important contemporary
thinkers' Guardian 'Leader writes beautifully with majestic clarity and an easy flow
between argument and case-study' Telegraph 'Leader is as much a philosopher as a
psychoanalyst and his ideas are engrossing and enlightening' Metro
