The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown’s best selling novel, purports to be more than fiction: it claims to be based on fact and scholarly research. Brown wants his readers to believe that he is revealing the long-concealed truth about Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and early Christianity, a truth that he says has been suppressed by the malevolent and conspiratorial forces of the Catholic Church. The novel alleges that there has been throughout history a secret group of true followers of a Gnostic Jesus and his wife, Mary Magdalene, the true “Holy Grail”. Almost everything most Christians and non-Christians think they know about Jesus, according to Dan Brown, is completely wrong, the result of Catholic propaganda designed to hide the truth from the world.
But are The Da Vinci Code’s claims fact or just plain fiction? Is the novel well-researched as claimed? What is the truth about Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and the early Church? Has the Catholic Church distorted the real Jesus? Why is the novel so popular? What about the anti-Catholic, anti-Christian agenda behind the novel?
Best selling author Carl Olson and journalist Sandra Miesel answer these and other important questions. Their painstaking research into The Da Vinci Code and its sources reveals some surprising truths. No one who has read or heard about The Da Vinci Code should miss this provocative and illuminating book.
“The title of this book by Carl Olson and Sandra Miesel says it all. The authors of The Da Vinci Hoax deserve our gratitude for exposing in considerable detail and with a sure touch the fabrications of Dan Brown’s book. Theirs is the definitive debunking.”
--Cardinal Francis George
Archbishop of Chicago
"You'll save yourself precious time and money, and hang on to your common sense, if you skipThe Da Vinci Code and go straight to Carl Olson's and Sandra Miesel's wonderful The Da Vinci Hoax. Conspiracy theories are always alluring, but nothing satisfies like the truth -- and Olson and Miesel do a superb job of defending the Catholic faith against one of the strangest pieces of fiction of our time."
--Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.
Archbishop of Denver
"Finally! Someone has taken the trouble to counter the absurdities of The Da Vinci Code, and to confront all the anti-Christian and anti-Catholic rhetoric that book has inspired. In writing their own well-informed and well-argued text, Olson and Miesel have done a real service, not just to Christians, but to anyone weary of contemporary fads and foolishness. And unlike the original Code, The Da Vinci Hoax is a delight to read."
--Philip Jenkins
Distinguished Professor of History and Religious Studies, Pennsylvania State University
“In The Da Vinci Hoax, Carl Olson and Sandra Miesel bring their considerable analytical powers to bear on the phenomenally successful novel by Dan Brown. The Da Vinci Code is a writhing nest of neo-Gnostic myths, blatant falsehoods, half-truths and absurd suppositions presented as facts--indeed, it is one of the most odious cases of revisionist history that have appeared during the past two centuries.
Olson and Miesel dissect it carefully--break the code of the Code, as it were--revealing not only Brown’s distortions of history but the underlying malice in his ‘fictional’ attack on Christianity. The Da Vinci Hoax is more than a refutation of a single book; it is an antidote to a poisonous genre that is growing in contemporary writing. This is a fascinating read and very good medicine!”
--Michael O’Brien
Author, Father Elijah: An Apocalypse
“I’ve painfully watched some usually-sensible university students fall victim to The Da Vinci Codedisease. I’ll enjoy having this clearly-written antidote to prescribe.”
--Marvin Olasky
Professor, The University of Texas at Austin
Editor-in-chief, World Magazine
“Olsen and Miesel have done a superb and meticulous job of dissecting the fraud which is The Da Vinci Code. Not only Christians, but all fair –minded people owe them a debt of gratitude.”
--James Hitchcock
Professor of History, St. Louis University
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