Secrets of Angels and Demons

by Dan Burstein

From the team that brought you the international blockbuster Secrets of the Code comes the first literary companion to Dan Brown's Angels and Demons.

Explore the Vatican's darkest secrets... Probe the little-known historical mysteries of Rome and the symbolism of Bernini's architecture and sculpture... Join the debate between religion and science that has been raging since the Church tried to silence Galileo.

Burstein and de Keijzer have drawn together world-class historians, theologians, philosophers, scientists, occultists, technologists, symbologists an linguists to penetrate and explore the labyrinth of conspiracies, cover-ups, messages encoded in famous artworks, secret societies and mystical knowledge. Secrets of Angels and Demons is a must for the millions of readers who want to separate fact from fiction in Dan Brown's international bestseller.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Religion, Reference

589 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2004

About the author

Dan Burstein is the world's leading expert on the fiction of Dan Brown. Burstein is also the founder of Millennium Technology Ventures, a New York-based venture capital firm that invests in innovative new technology companies.

Reviews

[Tom Schulte · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought I'd read his while re-watching Angels & Demons (2009) for flavor and context. Here's a breezy overview of explaining the sources of Brown's historical elements around the Illuminati as well as the Catholic Church and Baroque artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Interesting and relevant, the historical facts are told by a variety of experts and the different voices keep it engaging. There's even a couple of nice summary lines from Neil deGrasse Tyson about appreciating what Brown "got right" while enjoying the work of fiction for the work of entertainment that it is.

The "Masons" part is a summary of the conspiracy theories around that secretive fraternal organization and an overview of its actual history. It's added on because it appears the belief was Brown was going to move onto them after the Illuminati. (Maybe that happened, I don't know.)

[PurplyCookie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here are world-class historians, theologians, philosophers, scientists, art historians, technologists, symbologists, occultists, linguists, and writers and thinkers of all types discussing and debating the issues triggered by Dan Brown’s murder mystery. Burstein and de Keijzer have drawn together this authoritative group of experts to penetrate and explore "Angels & Demons", and to begin an exciting, engaging conversation for and with the millions who have read this book.

"Secrets of Angels and Demons" has seven parts, including "'Angels and Demons', Dan Brown, and the Art of Fictionalizing 'Fact'", "Galileo: the Pious Heretic", and "Two Windows on the Same Universe? The Science vs. Religion Discussion". The wide variety of viewpoints from numerous scholars was refreshing and informative. They clarified numerous 'facts' that had been distorted by Dan Brown's novel. The book could stand on its own as a good read.

While this isn't as fulfilling or as thorough as doing the research yourself - it does give nice background for people who don't have the time, inclination, or resources to do the research themselves in very "down to earth" language.


Book Details:

Title Secrets of Angels and Demons
Author Daniel Burstein
Reviewed By Purplycookie

[Dimitra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, I am a fan of Dan Brown.
HUGE fan!
When the movie of "the DaVinci code" came out, everyone was so frustrated about the story.
When "Angels and Demons" movie came out, the same thing happenned!
And these books where EVERYWHERE!!!
I didn't enjoy reading it so much because the writing was not that good for me, but I learned a lot, that's for sure!
I just get angry because everytime Dan Brown publishes a book, EVERYONE says "oh, that is not true, this is sh*t!!!*laugh*"
Well OF COURSE IT IS NOT TRUE! IT IS FICTION!!! SHUT YOUR MOUTH AND READ IT!!! -_-

[Adih Respati · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Angels and Demons: The Papal elections is filled with procedural inaccuracies; The Vatican Secret Archives is probably not that off-limit; One of the scene of the crime is inconsistent with the real map of Italy; The super jet is experience is hoax; last but not least, Brown's prose is inappropriately hiperbolic.

But I would read the novel again, three years from now, just for the kick of it.

[Rae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dan Brown's thrillers caused such a furor that books were published to explain his supposed historical facts. This is one of the better books in that category. The editors gathered a number of experts together and had them write mini-articles on Galileo, Copernicus, the Illuminati, anti-matter, art history, and just about all of Brown's subject matter. It was interesting...but a strange form of literary criticism. And all this for just a bestseller.

[Jax · Rating 1 out of 5]

secrets of angels and demons.....yikes where to start, well in a nutshell if your thinking of starting this one do yourself a favour and dont it has taken me a painful 2 months to read this book. I wanted to make it to the end for what purpose im asking myself now because it didnt get any better and it tends to wank on about the same subject all the way through. the best way to describe this book is like watching paint dry. 2 months of my life I will never get back.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok, so I thought the way he organized this book was dumb. There were things I just wanted to fact check...I didn't want to read a freakin' essay on something random and repeated to find that one speck! But then there was good stuff in it too about the history of Rome which holds a special place in my heart. Viva Italia!

[Ricardo Munguía · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cuenta con varios datos reales pero también de ficción. Es por ello que este libro me pareció excelente a manera de entretenimiento. Te atrapa y de mitad en adelante solo quieres seguir leyendo sin parar. Muy emocionante

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good companion book to Angels and Demons.

[Norman S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cardinals over 80 are not allowed to channel the holy spirit to help the new pope arise!

[Mike Carey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very entertaining

[Juan Antonio]

Finally!

[David Fraser · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not your everyday kind of book. Essay type of reading. Started out fascinating but really DRY as I continued on.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got bored

[Alexandria Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

We all knew A&D was fiction. I just wasn't expecting it to be that fictional.

[Ken Hamner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting review of Dan Brown's book. Well worth reading.