How to satisfy the endless hunger for information among the millions of readers caught up in The Da Vinci Code mania? Secrets of the Code: The Unauthorized Guide to the Mysteries Behind The Da Vinci Code is the most comprehensive, literate guide available for interpreting the intellectual intricacies of Dan Brown's bestselling novel.

This unprecedented volume provides a wealth of fresh insight from the world's most respected authorities on the novel's controversial historical, religious, artistic, and scientific themes. Interviews and commentary from renowned scientists, theologians, archeologists, philosophers, historians, and art historians address such provocative topics as:

* What was the true identity of Mary Magdalene? Was Mary Magdalene a disciple of Jesus and did she write her own gospel?

* Was Jesus married to Mary Magdalene? Did they have a child together?

* In the late 1960s, the Church publicly reversed its 1,400-year-old position that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute, but this revised history was never effectively communicated to the public. Has there been a "cover-up" of the role of women in church history?

* Did some geniuses of art and science--like Leonardo DaVinci and Isaac Newton--belong to secret societies that had the most compelling "insider information" in history? Did Leonardo convey some of the ideas in The Last Supper and other paintings?

Packed with excerpts from many original works, all-new material, and interviews with prominent scholars, Secrets of the Code will satisfy readers'curiosity, engage their imagination, and provide them with insights to better understand the multi-facted mysteries, secret codes, and messages embedded in the novel. Meticulously researched and compulsively readable, this volume is an excellent choice for book clubs and discussion groups.

CONTRIBUTORS INCLUDE: Diane Apostolos-Cappadona * Michael Baigent * Esther de Boer * David Downie * Betsy Eble Bart Ehrman * Timothy Freke * Peter Gandy * Deirdre Good * Susan Haskins * Katherine L. Jansen * Karen King * Richard Leigh * Henry Lincoln * James Martin, S.J. * Richard McBrien * Laura Miller * Sherwin B. Nuland * Elaine Pagels * Lynn Picknett * Clive Prince * James Robinson * Simon Singh * Margaret Starbird * David van Biema * Kenneth Woodward

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dan Burstein is an award-winning journalist and bestselling author of six books on global economics and technology, including Yen! Euroquake, Road Warriors, and Big Dragon. The founder of Millennium Technology Ventures, a New York-based venture capital firm that invests in innovative new technology companies, he has often written about the mysteries and complexities of the future. Secrets of the Code is his first book that explores mysteries and complexities of the past.