The Da Vinci Code

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With The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown masterfully concocts an intelligent and lucid thriller that marries the gusto of an international murder mystery with a collection of fascinating esoteria culled from 2,000 years of Western history.

A murder in the silent after-hour halls of the Louvre museum reveals a sinister plot to uncover a secret that has been protected by a clandestine society since the days of Christ. The victim is a high-ranking agent of this ancient society who, in the moments before his death, manages to leave gruesome clues at the scene that only his granddaughter, noted cryptographer Sophie Neveu, and Robert Langdon, a famed symbologist, can untangle. The duo become both suspects and detectives searching for not only Neveu's grandfather's murderer but also the stunning secret of the ages he was charged to protect. Mere steps ahead of the authorities and the deadly competition, the mystery leads Neveu and Langdon on a breathless flight through France, England, and history itself. Brown (Angels and Demons) has created a page-turning thriller that also provides an amazing interpretation of Western history. Brown's hero and heroine embark on a lofty and intriguing exploration of some of Western culture's greatest mysteries--from the nature of the Mona Lisa's smile to the secret of the Holy Grail. Though some will quibble with the veracity of Brown's conjectures, therein lies the fun. The Da Vinci Code is an enthralling read that provides rich food for thought. --Jeremy Pugh

Book Description

An ingenious code hidden in the works of Leonardo da Vinci.
A desperate race through the cathedrals and castles of Europe.
An astonishing truth concealed for centuries . . . unveiled at last.

As millions of readers around the globe have already discovered, The Da Vinci Code is a reading experience unlike any other. Simultaneously lightning-paced, intelligent, and intricately layered with remarkable research and detail, Dan Brown's novel is a thrilling masterpiece—from its opening pages to its stunning conclusion.

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While in Paris on business, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon receives an urgent late-night phone call: the elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum. Near the body, police have found a baffling cipher. While working to solve the enigmatic riddle, Langdon is stunned to discover it leads to a trail of clues hidden in the works of Da Vinci -- clues visible for all to see -- yet ingeniously disguised by the painter. Langdon joins forces with a gifted French cryptologist, Sophie Neveu, and learns the late curator was involved in the Priory of Sion -- an actual secret society whose members included Sir Isaac Newton, Botticelli, Victor Hugo, and Da Vinci, among others. In a breathless race through Paris, London, and beyond, Langdon and Neveu match wits with a faceless powerbroker who seems to anticipate their every move. Unless Langdon and Neveu can decipher the labyrinthine puzzle in time, the Priory's ancient secret -- and an explosive historical truth -- will be lost forever. THE DA VINCI CODE heralds the arrival of a new breed of lightning-paced, intelligent thriller¿utterly unpredictable right up to its stunning conclusion.

Customer Reviews:

Great Fiction.......2007-10-10

Dan Brown has done a wonderful job in reasarching this book. All his hard word work adds to the beilivability of the novel. This accounts for the reason so many have been against it from its inception.

This is agreat suspence story revalved around a great historic figure. Could it be true or is it totally false, you be the judge.

MNReview.......2007-10-02

Asorbing - you won;t want to stop listening. (Much more thrilling than reading the book.)

Worth reading if you can do it quickly.......2007-09-30

You need to read "The DaVinci Code" really fast; it's much better that way. You need to read it fast because if you slow down for a second, you might start asking questions like --

> Why does the author seem to be basing this book on schlocky movies like "Eyes Wide Shut" and "Monty Python and the Holy Grail"?

> How or why would Mary Magdalene wind up in France of all places?

> Were five million people really burned to death as witches, at a time when the population of all of Europe was maybe sixty million?

> Why are all the book's characters straight out of central casting?

But I don't want to be too tough on the book. Trying to make straight-laced Christianity compatible with Druidic free-love fertility rites will stretch anyone's syncretic capabilities.

Now, maybe for his next book Monsieur Langdon can dig up the grail, put the documents on the internet, then go off to discover that a certain sixth-and-seventh-century religious warrior-prophet was really married to four men, not women, and that this fact is constantly being alluded to by the Weinstein brothers in all their films.

Eye Candy.......2007-09-30

Never take a fictional story seriously, even when it can be ridden with a lot of false facts, and crap characters. This is a techno thriller, and from my experience in reading techno thrillers, it provided exactly what a thriller was supposed to provide: Edge-of-your-seat action and enough riddles to keep you turning the pages. In the haste to provide such a thriller, character development is one of the things left behind. The characters are simply there to drive the plot, but don't do much themselves. Thus is `The Da Vinci' Code.

Now, I've read `Angels and Demons' second to this, and the same themes are eerily there, if not almost complete copies of one another. Yeah, you got another Alex Cross, but at least Robert Langdon is slightly interesting character...or is that the plot talking?

The plot, we all know what this book is about and what it contains. Is the Holy Grail really a cup? Did the power of the church rest in man? What is humankind's darkest secret? Everything, while not totally accurate (This is fiction--mind you), did blend together, and it's no wonder why several people even believe this stuff is real. It really *does* sound convincing, and that is what a thriller is supposed to do. It's supposed to give you bogus that can pass off as true, or even truth than can pass off as true. Da Vinci's paintings tie together in the mystery, as well as Isaac Newton, among many others. The riddles are well-done and do not give you a sense of `huh?' when you solve them with Robert Langdon. Boy, the church seems to hide quite a lot of things from us, aren't they?

While this book bears the same theme as `Angels and Demons': a dark secret about the church that's been hidden for thousands of years, a dead leader leaves behind a single clue that could help out Robert Langdon and his new heroine companion, the you-didn't-see-it-coming villain, a `society-discarded' bodyguard to evil, etc...the book grips you, and does not let go. And that's why it's perfect for eye candy. It's just not good for you if you eat too much of it. Give it a try, but only if you're into characters who drive plot, and the plot is the only thing worth reading alone.

Mary Magdalene Vs. the Men's Club,.......2007-09-29

`The Da Vinci Code' is fiction; a fictional story about Sophie Neveu, a fictitious cryptologist working with the French provincial police, and Dr. Robert Langdon, a fictitious Harvard Symbologist, thrown together in a murder investigation by the victim himself with a hidden agenda which leads to a modern day search for the Holy Grail. This story is as captivating as the stories of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, with a twist. It is a book that keeps your attention and you will not want to put it down.
As with all great books it makes you think, wonder "what if", and puts a spin on one of the most misunderstood, if not THE most misunderstood person in history. As a young boy going to catechism, I had strong interest in the story of Mary Magdalene. The nuns portrayed her as a repenting sinner, a [...], and it was disturbing to me why Jesus Christ appeared to a [...] first on the birthday of Christianity. It is so refreshing and surprising that I am not alone with my feelings.
To me, faith is having belief in something or someone without proof. I believe in God and Jesus Christ, I do also believe in Mary Magdalene.
I don't know if she was the wife of Jesus Christ. I do know that the Catholic Church slandered this woman and did not recant it until 1969, hundreds of years after the slanderous remarks made about her. The damage to her is almost irreversible but God acts in mysterious ways.
As many people believe it is the end of times, to me it seems odd that so much attention is being drawn to Mary Magdalene now. It is surprising to me it is happening on the cusp of a new Pope coming to power. I see something different in this Pope just by his first address to the people. Just my opinion, but I think we are going to see the church try to put Mary Magdalene in the place she belongs and let women take their rightful place in the church.
Last year I was at a retreat, and one of the classes was about Conclave; with the Pope's health failing and getting on in years, they thought it would be good for us to understand how it went about. This was the first place I was introduced to the man who has become our new Pope. The one thing that stuck in my mind was the requirements to be Pope.
First, you must be baptized but not necessarily a Catholic.
Two, you must be a male.
Three, there is no three at all; the two requirements are all there is. I believe this is showing the discrimination of women in the church in such a blatant manner that it is unforgivable.
So, if the church does not believe that Mary Magdalene is the wife of Jesus and she is not a disciple, then who is she?
Let me express my feeling of the birth of Christianity and the last days of my Lord. He was accused, tried, convicted, scorned, and forced to carry his own cross in pain and humiliation, which became the tool of his demise. The one thing through all of these events was the presence of Mother Mary and Mary Magdalene. As they both cried and prayed at his feet as he died, WHERE WERE THE DISCIPLES?
Mary Magdalene and Mother Mary helped to remove him from the cross then prepared his body and helped to place him in the tomb for final resting, they then wept for three days and nights with great pain and sorrow. On the third day he rose from the dead, did not appear to any of the disciples, or kings, or Rabbis, not even to his own mother. He chose to come to Mary Magdalene first, and to her alone to confront his pain. She is one of the most important, if not the most important person to Jesus Christ. This can be seen in this one example on the birthday of Christianity. She fills every requirement to be a disciple but she is not.
One reason could be that she is female, and the Catholic Church is the largest and most powerful men's club in the world, with the Vatican being the biggest men's locker room the world has ever seen. Remarks like, "a woman belongs to her husband", is just one example. If you or I made some of the statements in the workplace that are made by priests in church, we could be fired; it would be considered sexual harassment. Accepting Mary as a disciple would rock the foundation of the church that Peter built. So I think we are at the end of times, the end of the old church and the men's club, and approaching the birth of a new church, with women standing next to men, THE CHURCH THAT MARY BUILT.
Or, is it as Dan Brown has so elegantly brought out in his book, that Mary Magdalene was the wife of Jesus.
This book is fiction but it asks real questions to every Christian; who is Mary Magdalene and why was she so important to the Lord? Why did the church try so hard to discredit her and write her out of the Bible?
Why the Gospel of Mary is restricted reading from the Catholic Church? I was in Mass one Saturday evening and this book was a big part of the homily, where the priest went on to say this book is blasphemy and not to be read.
I am confused, is this not censorship? Does not censorship feed mistrust, restrict the mind from growth, and stifle freewill. That's odd, because the church I was brought up in believed that freewill is the one thing that God the Father Almighty, the creator of us all, WILL NOT influence. I guess the leaders of the church think they know better than God
Speculation can take us down all kinds of roads. If God sent his son to us to forgive us for our sins and live among us as a man to understand man's suffering, why would God forsake Jesus of the most powerful emotion we as man can feel; the pain and beauty of love for another and the sense of parenthood.

The Real Holy Grail: An Orthodox Response to Dan Brown's Deceptions in Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code

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The Real Holy Grail: An Orthodox Response to Dan Brown's Deceptions in Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code
Metropolitan Bishoy, Nicola
Manufacturer: Orthodox Research Institute
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Orthodoxy | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1933275146

Book Description

Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code, by author Dan Brown, have deceived millions of people across the world with a plethora of lies about the one true God, Christianity, the Holy Bible, and the Christian Church. Dan Brown has achieved this by presenting the elements in his novels under the guise of fiction, while at the same time, claiming that they are factual. But even Brown's "facts," which he maintains are historically informed, are full of inaccuracies and historical discrepancies. What Dan Brown is describing in Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code can most certainly not be categorized as fiction, because in reality, the core and foundation of his writing is Theological and Christological. However, the Theology and Christology which Dan Brown has incorporated into his novels is a false Theology and Christology?-?it is grossly distorted and stridently far from the truth. This apologetic work sets out to provide the true Theological and Christological teachings of the Holy Orthodox Church in response to the deceptions in the selected writings of Dan Brown.

The Knights Templar: The History and Myths of the Legendary Military Order

Average customer rating:

Excellent overview of the history of the Knights Templar
It's a pamphlet!!!
the legend continues
The Almighty Templars Revealed!
A waste of time and money

The Knights Templar: The History and Myths of the Legendary Military Order
Sean Martin
Manufacturer: Thunder's Mouth Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Medieval | World | History | Subjects | Books

History | Religious Studies | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1560256451

Book Description

This book is an essential exploration into the history of a legendary group of Crusaders, which are prominently featured in Dan Brown’s recent best seller, The Da Vinci Code. The Knights Templar rose from humble beginnings to become the most powerful military religious order of the Middle Ages. Formed to protect pilgrims in the Holy Land, they participated in the Crusades and rapidly gained wealth, lands, and influence. Seemingly untouchable for nearly two centuries, they fell from grace spectacularly after the loss of the Holy Land. In the ensuing centuries the Templars have exerted a unique influence over European history; orthodox historians see them as nothing more than soldier-monks whose arrogance was their ultimate undoing, while others see them as occultists of the first order. With clarity and ease, Martin navigates between the orthodox and the speculative, the historical and the myth, to bring alive the story of the Templars. Like those other legends of the Middle Ages—the characters of the Arthurian tales—The Knights Templar holds captive the imagination of all those intrigued by conspiracy and how history and myth intertwine to become the stuff of legend.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent overview of the history of the Knights Templar.......2007-06-25

After reading "The Da Vinci Code" I wanted to know more about the real history behind the book. The Knights Templar turned out to be one of the most difficult subjects to find solid information on. This was practically the only book I could find that had any kind of respectable citations, although they are light even in this book. As I came to learn this was because there was very little hard history about the Templars, most of the stories are anecdotal at best and at worst mostly fiction. Sean Martin covers their history fairly and clearly delineates what is backed by hard evidence and what is purely anecdotal. The book is definitely brief but it covers the subject well and without the sensationalism most of the books on the subject use.

It's a pamphlet!!!.......2007-01-21

Tiny, short, ill-researched. I recommend this to those with more money than sense or whom are OBSESSED with getting anything and everything about the Templars regardless of how shaky the ground on which it stands. Avoid this one.

the legend continues.......2006-09-05

This book is great but too short. It sticks to the point and facts but leaves you wanting more.

The Almighty Templars Revealed! .......2006-08-09

This being my 1st book about this particular topic, "The Knights Templar" was a very easy read, and I think a good start in the field of Templar History. Sean Martin breaks everything out in a very understandable way. He discusses their origin and how The Templars began. He makes note of all the different kings, and various religious orders involved in the Crusades. After viewing the wonderful film, "Kingdom Of Heaven" recently released - you see some great characters come to life again, namely: Saladin, King Guy, King Baldwin the leper, etc).

I like the way Sean Martin explains the mysteries in the last section of the book. He goes into detail about the myths surrounding this unbelievable organization. Also, towards the end of the book, we see the decline of The Templars. It goes to show that when someone/some organization gets too powerful, the government will do whatever is necessary to rid the world of their existence. The same practice is still present in today's society! Nevertheless, it's still hard to believe that anyone had the ability to take The Templars down (being as rich, powerful, and influential as they were). *They had received papal bulls from Pope Innocent II (and a few popes to follow) which granted them unprecedented power without having to answer to anyone, kings included - simply amazing! The Templars had "divine power" (answering solely to the pope) and they used that leverage to their advantage for any endeavor they pursued. We'll never see that kind of institution again!

I will definitely have to read this book again to get more acquainted with the times, important figures, events and so on. For a small paperback, there is a lot of information to take in which makes this book a great little treasure to have! However, it will be a pleasure to read this book another time, and furthermore, I will use "The Knights Templar" as my guide to pursuing more books of the same interest. I hope to expand my knowledge about The Templars, and the power they held like no one else in history!

A waste of time and money.......2006-07-21

I bought this book mainly on the recommendations of other reviewers. That was a mistake. The book is a dull gleaning from unacknowledged secondary sources. Lots of more or less accurate names and dates, but no depth analysis at all. Style? Try this: "The feeling that the arrests were a criminal act of unapralleled dimensions were felt at the time."

If you still want the book, don't buy it. Let me know and I'll give you my copy.

Average customer rating:

tremendo
No dejen de leerlo
Da Vinci Truths!
El libro es ficcion!!!!
Almost everything Dan Brown taught us about Christ is false!

El Codigo Da Vinci / The Da Vinci Code
Dan Brown
Manufacturer: Ediciones Urano
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

General | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Spanish | Foreign Language Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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Moleskine Pocket Ruled Notebook

ASIN: 8495618605

Book Description

Nº 1 en USA

¿ Qué misterio se oculta tras la sonrisa de Mona Lisa? Durante siglos, la Iglesia ha conseguido mantener oculta la verdad… hasta ahora.

Antes de morir asesinado, Jacques Saunière, el último Gran Maestre de una sociedad secreta que se remonta a la fundación de los Templarios, transmite a su nieta Sofía una misteriosa clave. Saunière y sus predecesores, entre los que se encontraban hombres como Isaac Newton o Leonardo Da Vinci, han conservado durante siglos un conocimiento que puede cambiar completamente la historia de la humanidad. Ahora Sofía, con la ayuda del experto en simbología Robert Langdon, comienza la búsqueda de ese secreto, en una trepidante carrera que les lleva de una clave a otra, descifrando mensajes ocultos en los más famosos cuadros del genial pintor y en las paredes de antiguas catedrales. Un rompecabezas que deberán resolver pronto, ya que no están solos en el juego: una poderosa e influyente organización católica está dispuesta a emplear todos los medios para evitar que el secreto salga a la luz.

Un apasionante juego de claves escondidas, sorprendentes revelaciones, acertijos ingeniosos, verdades, mentiras, realidades históricas, mitos, símbolos, ritos, misterios y suposiciones en una trama llena de giros inesperados narrada con un ritmo imparable que conduce al lector hasta el secreto más celosamente guardado del inicio de nuestra era.

" Intriga y amenaza se mezclan en una de las mejores novelas de suspense que he leído jamás. Un sorprendente relato donde los enigmas se suceden a los secretos y éstos a las adivinanzas."

Clive Cussler.

" Un inteligente thriller lleno de enigmas y códigos que, sin duda, puede recomendarse con rotundo entusiasmo."

The New York Times

Customer Reviews:

tremendo.......2007-07-31

buen libro lo leei antes de ver la pelicula y cuando vi esta la entendi muy bien y esta bien redactado

No dejen de leerlo.......2006-10-08

Excelente libro. Se puede decir que es uno de esos libros que te mantiene entusiasmado y atrapa tu atención página por página.
Indiferentemente de la controversia que este libro ha creado, es una historia muy interesante. Obviamente es ficción y no van a faltar personas que se sientan atacadas por esta obra, pero es solo eso: ficción. No soy muy religioso y no me interesa discutir con nadie sobre ese tema, pero es un libro que definitivamente hay que leer.
El mismo autor lo dice en su pagina web: "El debate que se esta generando es una fuerza positiva y poderosa. Mientras mas vigorosamente debatamos estos temas, mejor será el entendimiento de nuestra propia espiritualidad. La controversia y el dialogo son saludables para la religión misma. La religión tiene un solo enemigo: La apatía; así que un debate apasionado es el mejor antídoto".

Da Vinci Truths!.......2006-07-06

I read the English version and have given the Spanish version to my father. What a great book! Although there has been some hype about the book not being a farse, and of course it is a novel, there ARE some great truths in this book that we have been aware of for quite some time. Seeing these truths published is quite refreshing. Do you know where the truth lays? Read the book and think about it.

Even if you think it is all fiction, you will still enjoy it. Don't go and see the movie, the book is 100 times better.

El libro es ficcion!!!!.......2006-07-04

El libro es ficcion no es historia!!!! Yo no me molestaria en comparar cristianos vs. Dan Brown. Si tu basas el destino de tu alma en una obra literaria, que Dios te ayude. Este libro es ficcion y nada mas.

Brown manipula la historia y en algunas casos fabrica completamente hechos para que conlleven la historia y realmente creo que se esmero en tratar de crear controversia ya que esto es la mejor publicidad.

Y no importa lo que digan los demas yo todavia creo que Jesucristo es mi Salvador y no creo que El se caso con Maria Magdalena. El unico libro que habla verdad es la Biblia .

Almost everything Dan Brown taught us about Christ is false!.......2006-06-29

Books have been written, and will continue to be written, to try and disprove Christianity and Jesus as the Son of God. What is almost comical is that one has to print lies and errors to try and convince people. That's because you can't disprove the TRUTH. And what are some of the errors, you ask? I will give you a few: Dan Brown tries to use Gnostic gospels (gospels written in the 2nd century and beyond by people who were not eyewitnesses) to try and prove his theory and omitting New Testament Scripture. To say that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married by using the Gospel of Phillip (written after 250 A.D.) where there are missing words: And the companion of the [...] Mary Magdalene. [...] more than [...] the disciples, [...] kiss her [...] on her [...]. Clearly, there is some problems with this text with the missing words and the fact that it was written over 200 years after Jesus died. This does not prove anything. Also, he says that the word "companion" means spouse in Aramaic, which is great, except that the Gospel of Philip was written in "Coptic," where "companion" does not mean "spouse!" Second, Dan Brown says that it wasn't until 325 AD at the Council of Nicea did people start to believe Jesus was a Deity and that it was a close vote. New Testament disproves that because it shows that Jesus was Deity where Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:3-5: "For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve." Also, The Council of Nicea met only to sort out some differences among church leaders, all of whom believed that Jesus was divine. The main question was whether Jesus was begotten or made. Jesus' divinity, death and resurrection were not in question. Only two of 318 clerics at the Council did not sign the Nicene Creed. So there was not a close vote unless you think 318 to 2 is close! Third, his main argument is that it Mary Magdalene in the Last Supper painting by Leo. If that were true, then where is John, the youngest and most beloved apostle? John was often portrayed in a feminine manner to convey youth, as is seen in many stained glass portraits in European cathedrals. And also, Leo was just a painter who was not around when Jesus was, so it didn't matter if he tried to put Mary in a painting or not! Fourth, Brown says that The Gnostic gospels and the Dead Sea Scrolls are "the earliest Christian records." While the New Testament obviously came before the Gnostic gospels, The Dead Sea Scrolls refer to a collection of about 900 documents, many of which are fragmentary scrolls written in Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic, that were discovered in a cave and do not contain even a single mention of Jesus or of any other person mentioned in the New Testament as they are Jewish documents! He also says they were discovered in the 1950's when they were discovered in 1947. Oops! Fifth, Dan Brown says that Christianity borrowed its beliefs from the pagan religion of Mithraism. He says that Mithraism worshipped the pre-Christian God Mithras, called the Son of God and Light of the World, who was born on December 25th, died, was buried in a rock tomb, and then resurrected in three days. Scholars of Mithraism would strongly disagree with Brown on all of these points. Nowhere is Mithras given the title Son of God and the Light of the World. Brown apparently made this up because it sounded good. Mithras was born on December 25th, however this proves nothing. The New Testament never associated December 25th with the birth of Christ. The early Christians chose to celebrate the birth of Christ on this day intentionally to oppose the pagan mid-winter festival of Saturnalia. They never claimed Jesus was actually born on that date. The claim that Mithras died and was buried in a rock tomb is just not true. Scholars will tell you that in Mithraism there is no death of Mithras at all. So, there was no rock tomb and no resurrection. So once again, he is nowhere near correct. Lastly, Brown says that the four canonical gospels were chosen from over 80 gospels. First, there were only less than half that many books written about Jesus life. The two Gnostic gospels Brown relies on most heavily weren't written until the second century A.D., long after the New Testament gospels were written. It makes sense that the Gnostic gospels came about in the late second century, as this is when Gnostic thought was most prevalent. However, the New Testament was complete before the end of the 1st Century. Also, the Gospel of Thomas, which Dan Brown lies heavily on,claims women must become men in order to receive salvation. That makes no sense. There are many other errors in this novel, but I think I have showed there are enough lies in this book not to be taken seriously. This is pure (or rather "poor") fiction, without a shred of evidence that Jesus was anything other than the Christ, the Son of the living God! Thank you, Dan Brown, for making my faith stronger!

The Da Vinci Code: Special Illustrated Edition: A Novel

Average customer rating:

A great work of fiction made even more enjoyable!
I do recommend the illustrated edition
Its a page turner...
Awsome Special Edition of Da Vinci
A Good Mystery Thriller

The Da Vinci Code: Special Illustrated Edition: A Novel
Dan Brown
Manufacturer: Broadway
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

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Moleskine Pocket Ruled Notebook

ASIN: 076792603X
Release Date: 2006-03-28

Book Description

One of the bestselling novels of all time, Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code has intrigued and thrilled millions of readers around the world. Now all the artwork, symbols, architecture, and historic locations—over 160 images—are beautifully compiled in this full-color collector’s edition.

A mind-bending code hidden in the works of Leonardo da Vinci.
A desperate race through the cathedrals and castles of Europe.
An astonishing truth concealed for centuries . . . unveiled at last.

While in Paris on business, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon receives an urgent late-night phone call. The elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum, a baffling cipher found near the body. As Langdon and a gifted French cryptologist, Sophie Neveu, sort through the bizarre riddles, they are stunned to discover a trail of clues hidden in the works of Da Vinci—clues visible for all to see and yet ingeniously disguised by the painter.

The stakes are raised when Langdon uncovers a startling link: the late curator was involved in the Priory of Sion—an actual secret society whose members included Sir Isaac Newton, Botticelli, Victor Hugo, and Da Vinci, among others. Langdon suspects they are on the hunt for a breathtaking historical secret, one that has proven through the centuries to be as enlightening as it is dangerous. In a frantic race through Paris, and beyond, Langdon and Neveu find themselves matching wits with a faceless powerbroker who appears to anticipate their every move. Unless they can decipher the labyrinthine puzzle, the Priory’s secret—and an explosive ancient truth—will be lost forever.

Instantly catapulted to the top of bestseller lists around the world, The Da Vinci Code is simultaneously lightning-paced, intelligent, and intricately layered with remarkable research and detail. From secrets embedded in the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper to the symbols of ancient Egypt, to the architecture of landmarks such as the Louvre, Westminster Abbey, Rosslyn Chapel, and more, this fully illustrated collector’s edition delivers the complete reading experience of Dan Brown’s riveting novel—from the opening pages to the unpredictable and stunning conclusion.

Customer Reviews:

A great work of fiction made even more enjoyable!.......2007-10-01

This book is the perfect solution for people that want to follow along (checking out the paintings and such), without having to read at your computer googling every couple pages. The first time I read the normal edition (that I had borrowed from the library), but when I went to buy my own copy I saw there was an illustrated edition and bought this one instead. There is no comparison - I enjoyed the book even more with all the extras I could want right there in front of me and can't imagine reading it any other way now.

I do recommend the illustrated edition.......2007-09-03

I would definitely recommend if you're going to read this book that you read the illustrated edition, as I found it was a great help in understanding the points of discussion in the book, myself having limited knowledge on the topics of historical architecture or Leonardo Da Vinci.
The book was interesting enough, there where however a few slow parts that I found difficult to get through. Which leads me to question all the attention the book received in the first place? The book is clearly fiction so to all those who seemed to be offended by it I can only say "Don't believe everything you read".

Its a page turner..........2007-08-22

Great paced, but don't throw out your bible and convert to the church of the feminine for goodness sake...

Awsome Special Edition of Da Vinci.......2007-08-15

I was given this book as a Christmas gift and enjoyed it so much, especially the pictures of the locations the story takes place in, that I bought it to give to someone else.

A Good Mystery Thriller.......2007-08-14

If you haven't even remotely touched/read the book.. I highly suggest you get this Special Edition. If you only have the original paperback, you should still get this Special Edition!

The depicted pictures are of signifant reference to the story-telling. And this book is evidently something to read more than once.

If you have to choose between the movie or the book, I would suggest reading the book. I did not find the movie as entertaining as the book captivating.

Truth and Fiction in The Da Vinci Code: A Historian Reveals What We Really Know about Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Constantine

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Affable, well-informed and devastating
Needs balance
Debunking Da Vinci
Expert demolition
After all, it is a novel!

Truth and Fiction in The Da Vinci Code: A Historian Reveals What We Really Know about Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Constantine
Bart D. Ehrman
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
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Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0195181409

Book Description

A staggeringly popular work of fiction, Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code has stood atop The New York Times Bestseller List for well over a year, with millions of copies in print. But this fast-paced mystery is unusual in that the author states up front that the historical information in the book is all factually accurate. But is this claim true? As historian Bart D. Ehrman shows in this informative and witty book, The Da Vinci Code is filled with numerous historical mistakes. Did the ancient church engage in a cover-up to make the man Jesus into a divine figure? Did Emperor Constantine select for the New Testament--from some 80 contending Gospels--the only four Gospels that stressed that Jesus was divine? Was Jesus Christ married to Mary Magdalene? Did the Church suppress Gospels that told the secret of their marriage? Bart Ehrman thoroughly debunks all of these claims. But the book is not merely a laundry list of Brown's misreading of history. Throughout, Ehrman offers a wealth of fascinating background information--all historically accurate--on early Christianity. He describes, for instance, the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls (which are not Christian in content, contrary to The Da Vinci Code); outlines in simple terms how scholars of early Christianity determine which sources are most reliable; and explores the many other Gospels that have been found in the last half century. Ehrman separates fact from fiction, the historical realities from the flights of literary fancy. Readers of The Da Vinci Code who would like to know the truth about the beginnings of Christianity and the life of Jesus will find this book riveting.

Customer Reviews:

Affable, well-informed and devastating.......2007-09-10

Almost as amazing as the explosive phenomenon that was "The Da Vinci Code," is the explosion of books attacking its premises and conclusions. Bart Ehrman's book, "Truth and Fiction in The Da Vinci Code" is an able addition to the list.

Ehrman is a historian, a Protestant, with a mainstream viewpoint. His book examines 6 "codes" that appear in TDVC. These touch on the persons of Jesus and Mary Magdalene, the process of defining the canon or list of accepted books, the role of women in the early church and other topics germane to the discussion. Ehrman's examination and conclusions are logical, based on the evidence and (I thought) quite convincing. For instance, he discusses the supposed "fact" that since all rabbis had to be married, then Jesus (often called "Rabbi" by his disciples) must have been married as well. Ehrman demolishes this notion with easily-accessible facts. The apostle Paul himself was unmarried, as evidenced by his own letters. And the 1st-century Jewish historian Josephus speaks glowingly of the Essenes, noting that they do not marry. The term "rabbi" means "teacher," and can be applied to those who have undergone and official process as well as those (like Jesus) for whom the term is used as an honorific. And, unconvincingly to skeptics, the Gospels do not mention a married Jesus. Having made the case, Ehrman states that he has broken the code (that a married Jesus was probable) and moves on.

By far, Ehrman spends the most time with the so-called gnostic gospels, upon which the hopes of so many who attack the Church are based. These works of the early centuries of the current era were known mostly through the attacks upon them made by early Church Fathers like Irenaeus. Since the 1940s, with the discover of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi library, historians have had a field day studying the primary texts of the first, second and third centuries. Ehrman examines the texts themselves as well as the cosmology and theology they espouse. This section is long, confusing and hard to follow, not least because the texts themselves are contradictory and plain weird. Ehrman pays special attention to details that moderns have given special importance. There is, for instance the section in the Gospel of Phillip in which Jesus is said to have kissed Mary Magdalene often on the mouth. Ehrman shows how this text is a reconstruction, with key words missing, and that it is embedded in sections that have purely spiritual and symbolic significance. Those who see it as an example of a flesh-and-blood relationship often neglect these key aspects of the work. Not to mention that the text post-dates the canonical gospels by many decades.

"Truth and Fiction" is a careful and dispassionate critique of the fuzzy thinking of TDVC partisans. It is also an good-natured attack on best-selling authors like Elaine Pagels ("The Gnostic Gospels") who have gained prominence by championing the vision of the gnostics. But the book's ultimate attack is on the "code behind the codes" -- the attempt to make the doctrine of the gnostics equivalent to the orthodox view taught in the gospels. Ehrman's great contribution is in making clear that two gospels -- one that preaches a suffering, crucified and risen Lord, and another that preaches a Lord who did not suffer and die -- can not merely be considered alternatives of one another. They preach different realities and have different consequences for believers. One is a gospel for all, the other a gospel for the elite. One opposes the world, the other revels in it. One was passed down by those close the Jesus, the other was invented decades or centuries after his life.

Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" was more than a work of fiction. It was an attack on the truth and on the hard-won and hard-kept beliefs of Christians over the last 2000 years. Ehrman's book is an educated, entertaining and accessible rebuttal that is well worth the read.

Needs balance.......2007-02-04

This is a good book with a lot of historical information and quotes, but it is the usual kind of scholarly approach that one finds to Christianity (like few other subjects): An investigation for which the author already knows the answer. I would rather see something a bit more open-minded than the sort of "writing the facts to fit the opinion" that usually comes to religion. For instance the entire concept of Jesus's "Kingdom of God" has only one possible meaning to the author; suffice it to say this is not so for a great many scholars, theologists and spiritualists. Rather disappointing for something that came through the Oxford University Press.

Debunking Da Vinci.......2007-01-08

It can't really be said that a scholar of Dr. Ehrman's magnitude was needed to demolish the historical claims of Dan Brown's piece-of-garbage novel. Any 12 year old Sunday school student could have blown down half the arguments of the Da Vinci Code while any intelligent person with a history book could have knocked over the other half. The value that Ehrman provides is that he delves deeper into Brown's claims and, rather than merely pointing out Brown's whoppers, gives us a very detailed education on Early Christianity, Biblical exegesis, the Gnostics, Mary Magdalene, Constantine, and all the other issues touching on the Da Vinci Code. It is a real pleasure for anyone interested in the Early Church and historical truth. However, Christians should be warned- although the vast majority of the book is unobjectionable, the born-again apostate Ehrman does indulge his agnosticism and judges the relative historical truth of the Gospels. If you can disregard that, the rest of the book contains some very valuable information.

Expert demolition.......2006-12-14

Bart Ehrman is a well-known historian of Christianity and chairman of the Religious Studies Department at UNC-Chapel Hill. This short book (it can be read in one long sitting) debunks Brown's plot and purported evidence from top to bottom. Better yet, it contains a lot of interesting material about early Christianity, the development of the NT scriptural canon, historical Jesus, what Constantine was and wasn't trying to do at Nicea, etc. I've read some of Ehrman's other books, which is why this one caught my eye. This one was clearly done in a hurry by pulling together parts of those other books, and a it's a bit padded with repetition. But Ehrman knows his stuff, and this is a nice, boiled down rapid-fire overview of that whole area of scholarship, how it proceeds (in a word, skeptically), and what kinds of conclusions it tends toward. Well worth the investment of time, even beyond the specifics about 'Da Vinci Code.'

The bottom line on Brown's book is that it's a page turner, but largely a mess in terms of historical accuracy, and a book that unfortunately promotes some really fundamental distortions and errors. Probably the two foundational inaccuracies are (1) Constantine did not decide the NT canon, and (2) the books that were left out of the NT were not books that over-emphasized Jesus' humanity, quite the contrary. There is much more wrong with 'Code,' (for example, it badly misrepresents both the Dead Sea Scrolls and the content of the books found at Nag Hammadi), but those two falsehoods pretty much destroy all its plot premises. 'Da Vinci Code' is an entertaining book that should not be taken seriously.

After all, it is a novel!.......2006-11-03

While I appreciate Bart's scholarship and have devoured other books he has written, I was disappointed in the tone of this book. As much as I champion feminine spirituality, the novel in question is, after all, a novel, for goodness sake! Enough already!

Sakrileg ( German edition of The Da Vinci Code )

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Sakrileg ( German edition of The Da Vinci Code )
Dan Brown
Manufacturer: GGP Media Gmbh, Germany
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0828815135

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Intricate, Marvellous and Wacky Inventions.
A TRUE MASTER!

Leonardo's Lost Robots
Mark Elling Rosheim
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 3540284400

Book Description

Leonardo´s Lost Robots reinterprets Leonardo da Vinci’s mechanical design work, revealing a new level of sophistication not recognized by art historians or engineers. By identifying his major technological projects, the book revisits Leonardo’s legacy of notebooks, showing that apparently unconnected fragments from dispersed manuscripts actually comprise cohesive designs for functioning automata. Using the rough sketches scattered throughout almost all of Leonardo’s papers, Rosheim has reconstructed Leonardo’s programmable cart, which was the platform for other automata: a Robot Lion, a Robot Knight, and a hydraulically powered automaton for striking a bell. Through a readable, lively narrative, Mark Rosheim recounts his adventures rediscovering and reconstructing da Vinci’s designs. In a foreword, the world-renowned Leonardo scholar Carlo Pedretti details the significance of these reconstructions for our understanding of Leonardo’s oeuvre.

Mark Rosheim attended the University of Minnesota, studying mechanical engineering. He has developed robotic technologies for NASA, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Energy, and is the founder and president of Ross-Hime Designs, Inc., a Minneapolis, Minnesota-based mechanical design company. He holds over 20 patents in robot technology, and has published and lectured extensively around the world on the topic of robot technology and history.

His quest to understand the mechanical principles of human motion and dexterity led him to investigate the anatomical and mechanical drawings of Leonardo da Vinci. Utilizing a new approach, he began to reconnect the tell-tale fragments into a cohesive whole. His resulting work has attracted attention worldwide, including articles in the New York Times, U.S. News and World Report, and Wired, and has been the subject of news features and films on several Italian television stations, the BBC, PBS and the History Channel.

Customer Reviews:

Intricate, Marvellous and Wacky Inventions........2007-04-16

This book helps to clear up one of the really silly images of Leonardo that exist in our world today.

People often think of Leonardo as some kind of supreme genius. We have a popular image of him sitting on a lofty mountain, serenely contemplating the universe from a point far beyond the reach of ordinary mortals.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

This book reveals the long and honorable history of how Leonardo learned from others about how to do his science. His teacher, Verrocchio, was a mechanical inventor who created a rather fabulous, whimsical clock. Leonardo learned from him and applied his principles to other things.

Throughout his life, Leonardo worked within a sphere of known mechanical knowledge. He stretched it in some places and improved it in others.

He was a very good scientist, and an extremely good observer. But an all-encompassing divine genius, he was not.

This simply proves what we've all known for years. Science cannot be done in a vaccum. Great achievements do not happen in isolation. Things happen because communities of people work together to toward a common goal - exactly like the kind of artist community Leonardo worked in under his tutelage by Verrocchio.

When Leonardo had a question, he asked others for an answer. He found some of his inspiration in ancient works of literature.

There were other inventors working at the same time who created mechanical devices far more advanced than anything Leonardo ever achieved. Why do people never remember these others, and only Leonardo?

Giovanni de Dondi, for example, created an astonishing seven-sided clock called an Astrarium, the most intricate example of medieval technology for centuries. We know Leonardo studied and sketched it, although he never equalled it.

Anyhow, interest in Leonardo seems to be waning in the popular world. I don't believe that most people know very much about Leonardo. Most of what they believe about him seems to come from a certain popular bestseller, much of which is flatly wrong.

I write this long after "The Da Vinci Code" has come and gone. The movie tanked, and the book is largely forgotten.

Thank goodness.

The charm of Leonardo lies not in his paintings, of which there are few, and certainly not in some silly, imaginary "code." His charm lies in the fact that he was a weird and wacky inventor.

He created more inventions than Giovanni de Dondi, and in all areas of technology. He was fascinated by the unknown, and captured by the joy of creativity.

Few people understand the charm of weird and wacky inventions the way Leonardo evidently did. "The Da Vinci Code" barely even mentions Leonardo's wacky inventions, except in a few brief, rather insulting asides that do nothing more than downride a great thinker.

Leonardo himself would be outraged.

It is a shame that Leonardo the man, who was not gay, who did not do "hundreds" of paintings for the Vatican, and who did not have a "lavish lifestyle" the way the "Da Vinci Code" claims, is not more widely known.

Why do people need a bestseller to interest them in someone like Leonardo? Books like "Leonardo's Lost Robots" should be enough.

The one flaw in this otherwise brilliant book is that it is recommended on the author's website to be for "anyone who has read 'The Da Vinci Code.'" I think this is an unbelievably sleezy advertising campaign that is bound to backfire in the end.

Goofy, unintelligent books like "The Da Vinci Code" come and go. Leonardo's weird and wacky inventions, however, last forever. They are always charming, fascinating and beautiful, a rare combination. Something that people would do well to learn from in the future.

- Regards.

A TRUE MASTER!.......2007-01-29

With all the "hype" regarding Leonardo due to Dan Brown's DaVinci Code, it would be a travesty to miss out on this book. A book that focuses on Leonardo's other works beyond what is commonly known. He was a visionary and truly thought outside of the box with ideas well before his time. A man born without nobility, yet died among Kings! His works are survived in this book showing he was more than a painter but an amazing inventor.
This book is perfect for anyone interested in one of the many aspects of the "Great Master". Fantastic illustrations reprinted in this wonderful and educational book, perfect for all ages, from JR High through University.

De-Coding Da Vinci: The Facts Behind the Fiction of The Da Vinci Code

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"Author" is not spelled "Angry Crusader Who Doesn't Read Too Carefully"
The Hassidic Code
The "It's just a book" defense of Da Vinci
Reducing the Code to Ashes
A Thorough Response

De-Coding Da Vinci: The Facts Behind the Fiction of The Da Vinci Code
Amy Welborn
Manufacturer: Our Sunday Visitor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1592761011

Book Description

De-Coding Da Vinci is a handy, thorough, yet easy-to-read resource that can help readers understand the difference between fact and fiction in the best-selling novel by Dan Brown.

De-Coding Da Vinci: The Facts behind the Fiction of The Da Vinci Code addresses the misrepresentation of history, religion and art in The Da Vinci Code. Did Leonardo actually build these codes into his paintings? Was the Priory of Sion a real organization? Is the Holy Grail really, as he says, Mary Magdalene's womb and now her bones, and not the Last Supper cup? Is Opus Dei really what The Da Vinci Code says it is? What was Constantine's true role in early Christianity? Was Jesus human or divine or both? Was He married to Mary Magdalene? Do secret writings not in the Bible really contain truths about Jesus, Mary Magdalene and the sacred feminine?

Complete with discussion questions and suggestions for further reading in every chapter, this is the perfect book to accurately answer questions as well as inspire further conversation. It can be used either as a personal resource to expand one's knowledge of the issues raised by The Da Vinci Code or to lead a discussion for a book club, a church group or to discuss with friends who've read the book and have questions that need to be answered.

Customer Reviews:

"Author" is not spelled "Angry Crusader Who Doesn't Read Too Carefully".......2006-07-09

The only part of this book worth listening to is Welborn's advice on the final page to not trust an author with an agenda. Honestly, if there's anyone who's qualified to delve into the more shrouded realms of history, it is not someone as emotionally driven as someone who writes "Up to this point, we've tried really hard to maintain a measured, objective tone in our treatment, but right here the limit has been reached, and we cannot go on" (p.31).

This book viciously attacks the DaVinci Code, using sarcasm, technicalities, and flimsy "gotcha" games to debunk the claims made therein. "Brown says that the Nag Hammadi texts were on 'scrolls'-they most certainly were not. They were codices, an early form of book" (p.27) she tells us. Golly, Ms Welborn, for someone defending the literal translation of a book that claims that the world was created in two distinctly different ways (Genesis 1, 2), you sure are a stickler for semantics.

Also, we pretty much have to take Welborn's word on everything. Very few of her facts are backed up with sources cited, an error that would get any high schooler a C- on their essay. The only book that ever gets an in-text citation is the Bible, and simple logic does not allow someone to use any one source to affirm said source's credibility. No matter what she says, some facts remain unarguable and very telling: the work "pagan" used to simply mean "native", and the pentagram was not a symbol of devil worship. Speaking as somebody who has studied with Jesuit priests I find some of her claims highly dubious or naive, and though I can not empirically claim that many of her accounts are false I daresay she does a poor job of coming off any more credible than the book she condemns.

Frankly, I wonder just how familiar Welborn is with the novel, or even the Bible, for that matter. The way she talks sometimes suggests that Dan Brown was saying, "Jesus ate babies and the pope wants to kill you!" Welborn would do well to remember who the real villain turned out to be in the novel, not to mention the positive things that Brown actually said about the church. "Think about it," Welborn tells us, "If Jesus were nothing more than the gentle teacher of Brown's account, why would any authority bother to execute him?... [Christians] were punished because... they worshiped a God, embodied in Jesus of Nazareth, allegiance to whom prohibited them from honoring Caesar as lord or god" (p.122). Firstly, where in the novel does Brown make the claim that Jesus was not what Christians believe him to be? And second, Jesus was crucified because people were claiming that he was going to lead the Jews in overthrowing their Roman rulers! It's in the friggin' Bible! If you didn't know that, then you have no business calling yourself Christian.

Maybe Brown doesn't have all the facts about what really happened, and maybe Welborn is completely wrong. I don't know, but I'll tell you this: only one of them backed up his work with sources, and only one of them was writing in an angry, defensive frame of mind.

The Hassidic Code.......2006-07-06

Suppose Dan Brown had written a "fictional thriller" entitled "The Hassidic Code". In this fictional novel, suppose Dan Brown wrote about the biggest secret in all history: the "fact" that the Holocaust was faked. Suppose Dan Brown wrote about how rich and powerful Jews actually fabricated the entire Holocaust (phony newsreel footage and all) in order to garner global sympathy, and thereby inoculate themselves from criticism as they systematically took over the financial institutions of the world. Just suppose he had written that "fictional thriller".

How do you think the liberal press would react to that book? Do you think Ron Howard would have been vying for the rights to make the movie version? Do you think Tom Hanks would have gone for the leading role? Do you think Dan Brown would have been invited as honored guest onto the talk show circuit? Do you think that folks like the negative reviewers here would have been insisting that Jews have no right to be offended by such a book?

Get real. Anti-Catholicism is obviously the last socially acceptable form of bigotry in America. The proof is that these anti Catholic bigots don't even know they're bigots.

The "It's just a book" defense of Da Vinci.......2006-05-20

A reviewer below bashes this book and others like it because it sets out to debunk Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code", which is "just a fiction book!" afterall.

This is an obvious and convenient counter-attack that Dan Brown acolytes are prone to use. Somehow, the fact that "The Da Vinci" code is "just a work of fiction" innoculates it from any questions as to the veracity of the "facts" the novel is supposedly based on.

Well that just doesn't wash - the first page of the novel itself has a page labelled "FACTS", where it lists several things in that category as if they are iron-clad truth, among them the "Priory of Sion" nonsense. This "FACT" page is supposed to set us up for the rest of the book, which is supposed to be a fictional story BASED ON these "FACTS".

Furthermore, Dan Brown himself has claimed in interviews that the Langdon story is, of course, fictional, but that the conspiracy dribble he's looking into in the book are real. They are "FACTS".

It's certainly not fair to try and push your book as being "about facts" and then turn around when criticized and cry out "but it's just a fiction thriller! What's your problem!" That's trying to have your cake and eat it, too.

If the book and its author are telling us that the fictional story is supposed to be hung on a framework of "facts", and these supposed "facts" also attack an entire religion, I think a debate about those "facts" is certainly in order, don't you?

The question shouldn't be "why does the Church care so much about a fiction book?" Instead, it should be, "Why do Dan Brown acolytes find it so threatening that the instution his book attacks with supposed "facts" is now turning the tables and offering a rebuttal?"

What's wrong with pointing out the "facts" in Brown's book are really not supported by actual history?

Does the Church not have a right to defend itself against such smears propagated as "facts" by the book and its author? Is what's good for the goose not good for the gander? Is it okay for an author to snipe at the Church with the "truth" of this story but then run for the cover of "it's just a book!" as soon as the Church hits back?

And finally, if these responses by those who are skeptics of Brown's book help us get closer to the actual TRUTH of the matter, isn't that a GOOD thing?

Reducing the Code to Ashes.......2006-05-17

The media frenzy over Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code is certainly far greater than is warranted. A mediocre though sometimes entertaining whodunit, the suspense is largely based around an alleged conspiracy hatched by the Catholic Church to suppress the true message of Christianity - a charge that Brown says is actually true. It is the conspiracy theory and its claims of an alternate Christian story that fuels the popularity of the book among those who wish Jesus were someone other that who He is.

Although many writers have taken on Brown's assertions, most have been from the Evangelical wing of Christianity and their understanding of the early Church, though not as ridiculous as Brown's own, is based on the erroneous assumption that early Christianity paralleled contemporary Evangelicalism. Missing is an understanding of the faith centered on the liturgical life of the Church.

In De-coding Da Vinci, Catholic author Amy Wellborn brings a richer understanding of patristic thought than what is put forth in almost all books dealing with Brown's novel. Wellborn, who is best known for her blog Open Book, is an excellent writer with a gift for getting to the heart of the matter at hand. As she develops her response to Brown's claims, the theories underlying his assertions are methodically destroyed and a true understanding of the Church put in its place. Even in discussions covering technical issues, her flair for prose makes an easy read that is entertaining as well as illuminating.

In successive chapters, Wellborn covers Gnosticism, the development of the Scriptural Canon, the Council of Nicea, the life of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, the "sacred feminine", mystery religions, Leonardo Da Vinci, the Holy Grail, and Brown's anti-Catholicism. As she exposes his charges to the light of the historical record, the absurdities become crystal clear. At times, his ineptness is so severe that Wellborn can't help but make jokes at his expense. When it is over, the historical charges made in The Da Vinci Code are reduced to ashes.

The wide popularity of The Da Vinci Code has necessitated a response. Few of these responses have combined historical knowledge, literary style, and a love for the truth to the degree found in De-coding Da Vinci. For those wishing to cut through the hype generated by the media and clearly understand the issues raised, it is essential reading.

A Thorough Response.......2006-05-09

De-Coding Da Vinci by Amy Welborn is the best selling Catholic response to Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code. Welborn explains that "much of the foundation for The Da Vinci Code's plot might seem new and intricately creative, but the harsh truth is that most of it isn't new at all." (15) In her book she aims to show that not only are the novel's claims unoriginal, but also that many are blatantly false.

Each of the ten chapters deal with a specific set of claims ranging from the historic "secrets" of the church, to Jesus' relationship with Mary, to Leonardo da Vinci himself. The chapters are short and to the point, being about eight to ten pages each. Throughout the book are info boxes that point out interesting facts or disprove Brown's claims. At the end of each chapter are recommended books for further reading as well as review and discussion questions.

Amy Welborn leaves no stone unturned. I really can't think of anything she doesn't address in this book. Everything is addressed at a very popular level, and her writing style may at times be considered spunky. Due to the popular level style, some of the arguments come across as lacking sophistication, which may be good or bad depending on the reader.

Even though De-Coding Da Vinci is written from a Catholic perspective, it's catholic to the degree that Protestants will find nothing worth disagreeing about in the book. Amy Welborn does an admirable job of addressing a very diverse range of issues in a manner that's accessible to everyone.

Forbidden Faith: The Gnostic Legacy from the Gospels to The Da Vinci Code

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Quiet Faith, Hidden Truth
Another gem from Richard Smoley
Get over yourself!
Faith, Reason & Gnosis
A history of the Gnostics

Forbidden Faith: The Gnostic Legacy from the Gospels to The Da Vinci Code
Richard Smoley
Manufacturer: HarperOne
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0060783397
Release Date: 2006-04-11

Book Description

Who were the Gnostics? Were they heretics, or were they ancient visionaries who possessed the keys to the deepest secrets of Christianity? Where did they come from? Did they leave any descendants? Why were they suppressed by the early Church? And why do their ideas keep reappearing throughout history? Forbidden Faith is the first comprehensive popular history of Gnosticism, a secretive tradition that has survived for centuries in many forms and under many names.

Richard Smoley, an expert in esoteric Christianity, traces the Gnostic legacy from its ancient roots in the Gospel of Thomas, discovered in Egypt; early second-century Gnostic communities of the Roman Empire; and the Manichaeans of Central Asia. He tracks how the Gnostic impulse was publicly repressed but survived underground in various forms of Christianity, surfacing again in the Middle Ages with the Cathars, a mysterious group of heretics who inspired the medieval tradition of courtly love but were then wiped out by the Inquisition. Since then, Smoley reveals, the Gnostic legacy has survived into the modern era with the help of Jewish Kabbalists, the Freemasonry of our founding fathers, the poetry of William Blake, the intuitive insights of nineteenth-century American Theosophists, and the psychological works of Carl Jung. Finally, we learn how some of the key teachings of the Gnostics are being revived today in serious nonfiction such as the criticism of Harold Bloom, in the science fiction of Philip K. Dick, as well as in popular Hollywood films like The Matrix and The Da Vinci Code.

Why should Gnosticism exercise such a peculiar and lasting fascination? Throughout most of Christian history, Gnosticism was the "forbidden faith," and such condemnation by the official Church might actually have served to endow the movement with glamour. But that explanation goes only so far. For the Gnostics to have such lasting appeal, it seems logical that they must offer solutions to some problems, solutions overlooked by mainstream religion. Forbidden Faith provides the enduring story and continuing legacy of those errant faithful who have had direct experiences of the divine that can't be explained by the official beliefs of the Church.

Customer Reviews:

Quiet Faith, Hidden Truth.......2007-08-08

I came across this book during the course of my usual duties as a bookstore employee. I had seen books on the topic before but never had I been struck by any of them (at least not strongly). I had just finished reading the extended newer edition of 'The Essential Rumi' by Coleman Barks (I had read the previous publishing twice) and his recommendation on the back of this book sold me. I looked into Richard Smoley's past works, checked the amazon reviews, and came back to purchase it the next day (as well as perform the neccessary duties assigned to me during my working hours). This book introduced me to many mystical movements, inspired individuals, and small divisions of the christian church that I had no foreknowledge of . Most of my background has been in eastern religions; the strongest focus being on the poetry and writings of the sufis of Islam. This book was a great introduction to the esoteric traditions that stemmed from multiple interpretations of the teachings of christ. Most important to me was that this book reflected many concepts I had been wrestling with in my head for some time. This book presents a lot of information in a quick and understandable format and for the person who is interested in the evolution of mystical thought (not to mention the commonalities shared by the diverse spiritual movements of the world), this would be a great addition to one's library. My interest does not lie in New Age interpretations of historical texts and if you're like me, this will not dissappoint. Very well written and does not stray into fantastic personal interpretations of history. Presents possibilities, commonalities, historical fact, and to some's dismay, does not hold The Da Vinci Code in high regard (thank Jehovah, suckers).

Another gem from Richard Smoley.......2007-07-23

Having read Smoley's previous books and the magazine (Gnosis) he edited for many years, I was pleased to see him take up the history of Gnosticism. His background in philosophy and religion and his fluid, accessible style of presenting complicated material make this book a great intro to the subject.

Get over yourself!.......2007-06-28

Richard Smoley's greatest gift to the reader is his historic rendering of Man's eternal struggle in search of a spiritual Self, one in touch with special knowledge, the "thought of God."

We are introduced to myriad, varied concepts of God-ness, from an Absolute Good, to an eternal Janus-like Duo of the Good and the Evil; to a God who must not be soiled by contact with his physical creations and therefore creates and enlists lesser gods, demiurges, to execute such chores, putting layers of separation increasingly between the Ultimate and the creation. At the bottom of this cosmological barrel is physical Man seeking spiritual perfection through an endless maze of filters.

Oversimplified, Gnosis is seen as a vilification of the body, a prison in which we struggle for the Self. Smoley, addressing the ego quotes from "A Course in Miracles" (Helen Shucman, 1975):

"Into eternity, where all is one, there crept a tiny,

mad idea, at which the Son of God forgot to laugh."

We are introduced to thinkers and quacks, saints and lunatics, historic and virtual: Thomas, Hermes Trimegistus, Zoroaster, Descartes, Philip K. Dick, Ram Das, Plato, Neo and Agent Smith, the Da Vinci Code, the quantum physics of the human experience, even Saddam Hussein. We hear the words of William Butler Yeats calling the human spirit one "fastened to a dying animal;" and the author's own observation. "Human beings are creatures that are capable of viewing the body as an 'other.'" Does this "other" seek an immortal imaginary friend in the likes of Jesus?

From all the struggle and neuroses and the "spiritual wickedness in high places," we are nonetheless provided a recipe for hope, its key ingredient being "loss of preoccupation." How to live in this world is to overlook it.

Early on, it may be Thomas, who provides an early, sane glimmer of hope. For my own purposes, I've distilled his take as, "Don't sweat the small stuff. It's all small stuff."

Faith, Reason & Gnosis.......2007-02-25

What a great book! Gnosticism can be difficult to understand but Mr. Smoley makes it very easy to read and comprehend the Legacy. Richard Smolely did an excellent job of researching the tenets of Gnosis throughout "known" history. It got a little boring and it was a stretch during the Medeival Church era but it was worth it to find out where he was going with it at the end of the book.

For example he analyzes the movie "The Matrix". It really is not a Gnostic movie. I never considered this but when "Thomas" Anderson discovers he is not in the real world, their reality is "worse" than the Matrix. This is NOT Gnosticism. What is Gnostic is what follows: "The only character who expresses anything close to true Gnosticism is, ironically, Agent Smith----the truly disembodied mind who is forced to take on physical form and interact in the simulated physical world within the Matrix. As he says to Morpheus: 'I can taste your stink and every time I do, I fear that I've somehow been infected by it.' He is desperate to return to a pure state of disembodied existence, just as any true Gnostic would. Yet he is the embodiment of the enemy."

And then he further gathers the following from Meister Echardt "I put detachment higher than love." For Echart, it is detachment from the world and its experiences that leads on toward God. "Experience must always be an experience of something, but detachment comes so close to zero that nothing but God is rarefied enough to get into it, to enter the detached heart." This statement is practically a one sentence summary of the path of Gnosis.........

This is exactly what happens during meditation if done correctly....when one looks......inward!

This book is loaded with "Secret Knowledge" or Gnosis!

Richard Smoley is clearly a Gnostic Scholar. I shall keep this book in my library for future reference.

Jesus said "Become of Passers-by".......Gospel of "Thomas" (Nag Hammadi Library).

A history of the Gnostics.......2007-01-15

Buy this book if you would like to read a study of the entire history of the Gnositcs from what Jesus said in the biblical gospels all the way up to what the Da Vinci code had to say about Dan Brown's theories of Gnosticism. The authors covers all bases in between he discusses the Egyptian roots of Gnosticism, the Cathars, the sages of the renaissance, Rosicrucianism, and the Knights Templar. The book explains how Gnosticism changed up to the current time with most of the myth and symbolism being dropped in favor of a more psychological approach through archetypes and symbolism. This journey will take you through the thougts of Boehm, Blake, Phillip Dick and many others. At the end of the book high explains Gnostic theology and what the future may hold for reason, faith, and gnosis. If you are interested, buy this book-

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