Secrets of the Code

The Press Room

SECRETS OF ANGELS & DEMONS: The Unauthorized Guide to the Bestselling Novel, published by CDS Books in association with Squibnocket Partners ($23.95), made its debut last week on The New York Times Extended Bestseller list at #25. The authors’ previous book, Secrets of the Code (CDS Books/Squibnocket 2004), was some 20 weeks on the Times’ bestseller list. Together, these two books have over half a million copies in print in North America and another half million copies worldwide in 21 foreign languages– all sold in less than ten months’ time. Secrets of the Code is a bestseller in France, Germany, Canada, South Africa, and Poland.

Like The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown’s Angels & Demons has had millions of readers wondering what is fact and what is fiction in some of the most important—and controversial themes of Western history. Although the novel’s plot reaches back to the 16th century, many of the topics could come straight from today’s headlines: The papal succession process and the history of the Vatican; Galileo and the debate between science and religion; the Illuminati, Freemasons, and other secret societies and conspiracies; and the world’s most famous artworks used to conceal some of history’s most controversial ideas and longest standing secrets.

The “Secrets” series captures the intellectual spirit behind Dan Brown’s novels and serve as the quintessential readers’ guides. In SECRETS OF ANGELS & DEMONS, Burstein and de Keijzer follow the same approach they took in Secrets of the Code—presenting original essays, interviews and book excerpts from some of the world’s leading thinkers and experts, including theologians, scientists, technologists, Vatican-watchers, Rome-based travel and culture writers, art historians, symbologists, philosophers, forensic medicine specialists, linguistics experts and linguists, conspiracy theorists and conspiracy theory debunkers.

“Dan Brown’s books weave easy-to-digest bits of Big Think and arguments from the history of western civilization around fast-paced murder mystery plots,” observes Dan Burstein. “Our books in the ‘Secrets’ series bring genuine world-class authorities into the discussion to help readers sort out fact from fiction. And even though Brown may be wrong on some of his facts, where else in contemporary culture today would you find millions of people interested in discussing Bernini, Galileo, and the Illuminati? The experts of the “Secrets” books help extend and deepen the ideas that Dan Brown only touches on. And they provide the reader much food for thought and an even richer reading experience.”

“A key reason why the ‘Secrets’ books are selling so well is that they cover the whole range of important ideas in Dan Brown’s books in a balanced way, allowing the reader to make up his or her own mind on the key issues taken up by novelist,” added Arne de Keijzer.

There is no better way to understand Angels and Demons and Dan Brown’s past and future books than to read SECRETS OF ANGELS & DEMONS. For the complete table of contents, background of the experts, and other information about the content of SECRETS OF ANGELS & DEMONS, visit www.SecretsofAngelsandDemons.com Learn more about SECRETS OF THE CODE at www.SecretsoftheCode.com

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About Dan Burstein and Arne de Keijzer

Dan Burstein is a journalist, author, and venture capitalist. As an award-winning journalist and author, he has written six books on global economics and technology, including a forthcoming book on the blogging phenomenon. Burstein’s day job is as an investor in innovative new technology companies through his firm Millennium Technology Ventures. He has also been a longtime senior advisor at the Blackstone Group, one of Wall Street’s leading investment banks, as well as a corporate strategy consultant who has served as advisor to CEO’s and top management teams of global corporations such as Sony, Toyota, Microsoft, and Boardroom, Inc.

Arne de Keijzer is also an author and journalist, and a former China business consultant. He has written and edited books and articles spanning many disciplines, from business to travel and from religion to boating. In addition to three other books on China, he was coauthor, with Dan Burstein, of BIG DRAGON, an innovative look at China’s economic and political future.