Praise for Secrets of the Code

"Since its publication three years ago, The Da Vinci Code has inspired a cottage industry of related books, including novels, parodies (The Da Vinci Cod: A Fishy Parody is my favorite), rebuttals, biographies of Da Vinci and Mary Magdalene, and nonfiction titles about secret societies, gnosticism and early Christianity... I ...recommend reading at least one of the many rebuttals to The Da Vinci Code, so you don't take everything in Brown's novel as, well, gospel. My favorite is Dan Burstein's Secrets of the Code. Just after Brown's book was published in 2003, Burstein stayed up all night finishing it and was inspired to read dozens of other books on art, religion and early Christianity. Burstein's book is a compilation of comments by scholars, artists and other thinkers on Code topics, including the findings of an investigative reporter who says Brown's novel was riddled with the kind of simple errors ‑- from the direction of Paris streets to the name of Leonardo da Vinci himself ‑- that a simple Google check could have avoided.”
—Margo Hammond, one of the "Book Babes," writing in Good Housekeeping's online book column

"Secrets of the Code by Dan Burstein, offers a comprehensive, literate guide available for interpreting the intellectual intricacies of Dan Brown's best-selling novel.”
— Amy Crump, Marshall (MO) Democrat News

“After reading 11 debunker books, I consider Dan Burstein’s Secrets of the Code to be the best of the lot. Most of the other books I read were written from either a Catholic or evangelical Christian perspective; this one is a compilation of writings from people all along the Da Vinci Code spectrum … I’d go with Burstein first.”
—Marcia Ford, FaithfulReader.com

“Secrets of the Code is a veritable Da Vinci Code encyclopedia —a lively combination of interviews, commentaries and extracts from Dan Brown's sources which will give you a taste of the issues which have been thrown into the debate."
—The Rough Guide to the Da Vinci Code

“… Dan Burstein's Secrets of the Code … is the first to break through, snaring a spot on the best-seller list. … What does Burstein's book offer that the other tag-along books don't? For starters, he unravels a hidden message on the dust jacket of the hardcover edition, and, unlike the others, he doesn't attack the book from a religious standpoint.”
—Wall Street Journal

“Secrets of the Code is one of the best of a recent boomlet of books … a collection of various scholarly and critical opinions. Burstein’s bottom line? Brown’s book is fun, brainy—and fiction.”
—Reader’s Digest

“Secrets of the Code is a fun and interesting read, and it gives a glimpse of some of the sources Brown used to create his Da Vinci Code  phenomenon.”
—National Catholic Reporter

“The single most cost-efficient book you can purchase, with an impressively thorough collection of essays about every aspect of The Da Vinci Code. . . . This is far and away the best of the Code books in terms of value for dollar. … It’s the best of all the books I read.”
—Frederick Zimmerman, Solomon Key and Beyond (blog)

“If The Da Vinci Code  interests you, I cannot recommend too highly the Secrets of the Code . . .  It is more interesting than the original book.”
—Norbert Spehner, Revue Alibis

“Secrets of the Code is an excellent resource—and gripping read unto itself.”
—Westport magazine

 “Unlike other works cashing in on the Code's success … Dan Burstein's collection of essays seeks to understand the complexities of gnosticism, Christian origins and the battle over the feminine in Christianity. What the author does is present a range of divergent views about these matters - and about the novel. … In bringing such questions and scholarly voices together into the wider public domain, Burstein (and perhaps even Dan Brown) has done us a service.”
—Anthony Egan, Mail & Guardian

“Dan Burstein’s skills as a journalist are evident throughout this book. “
— Christianbook.com