The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (2003, Unabridged, Compact Disc)

This is an absolutely fantastic book and the 1st I read by Dan Brown. It was so good in fact, that I went out the day after I finished it and bought Angels and Demons and have since read all his other books.

Both Angels and Demons and the Da Vinci Code chronicle the adventures of Robert Langdon, a Harvard symbologist. Dan Brown is a stellar writer and includes real history in the books which makes for an educational read. This book has produced quite a stir with its content and has actually spurned books dedicated to revealing the myths behind the fiction.

This is an absolutely fantastic book and the 1st I read by Dan Brown. It was so good in fact, that I went out the day after I finished it and bought Angels and Demons and have since read all his other books.

Both Angels and Demons and the Da Vinci Code chronicle the adventures of Robert Langdon, a Harvard symbologist. Dan Brown is a stellar writer and includes real history in the books which makes for an educational read. This book has produced quite a stir with its content and has actually spurned books dedicated to revealing the myths behind the fiction.

As an example here are some of the more "sensitive" topics the book raises:

Early Christianity entailed "the cult of the Great Mother" Mary Magdalene represented the feminine cult and the Holy Grail of traditional lore
she was also Jesus' wife and the mother of his children.

Magdalene's womb, carrying Jesus offspring, was the legendary Holy Grail (as seen in Da Vinci's encoded paining, The Last Supper).

Jesus was not seen as divine (God) by His followers until Emperor Constantine declared him so for his own purposes.

The Nicean Council of the 3rd Century was the context for Constantine's power grab and the relationship of Magdalene as paramour of Christ was quashed there.

"Mary Magdalene's remains and the secret documents that tell the real story were found on the Temple Mount when Jerusalem was conquered in the First Crusade.”

Brown sees a connection between the Nag Hammadi documents (a.k.a., Gnostic Gospels) discovered in 1945 and this storyline.

The "truth" about Christ and Mary Magdalene has been kept alive by a secret society named the Priory of Sion that was lead by great minds like Da Vinci.

Perhaps one of the trademarks of a good book is its ability to create this sort of dialog. Already TV shows have been dedicated to exploring these issues. I can only expect this hype will continue to grow with the announcement of a movie!

Overall ... a MUST read!