Truth and Fiction in The Da Vinci Code

Author: Bart D. Ehrman

Rating: 4 Stars

Review:

Firstly, I didn't read this because of The Da Vinci Code directly. I read that book many, many years ago and don't have an opinion on the story either way, but I remember being wholly annoyed at the laughable disclaimer at the beginning about Brown's citing of documents as authentic. Instead, I read this because I know my own knowledge of the history of Christianity has considerable gaps and the more I read, the more these gaps are filled in. Ehrman does a fine job explaining why something is incorrect in Brown's writing, without being forceful of his own opinion or why one should believe what he believes. Certainly he is far more credible than Brown, who is not a historian in any way. I could've rated this five stars had Ehrman not been so repetitive. It absolutely irritates me to no end when authors say, "As I've discussed in the previous chapter..." Or "In the next chapter I will..." Come on, seriously. How about you cut out all the unnecessary filler and just present your case and facts supporting it? It's distracting and annoying. I'd hope that anyone who enjoyed The Da Vinci Code would take time to read this as well, so they are not simply taking Brown's word for it about what is accurate in Christian history. It would be a shame to have so many more misinformed people speaking of fiction as fact