Some books demand to be reviewed and this is one. This book brought a boatload of controversy to the shores of the Roman Catholic Church in particular, and to Christendom, in general. The boat that brought it is not new though, not by any stretch of the imagination. We will not give the historical evidence here but can easily point you to a book that encapsulates the known and, very likely, is the source for most of the controversial background material in the da Vinci Code itself, a book titled HOLY BLOOD, HOLY GRAIL by Baigent, Leigh, and Lincoln that was published in the 1980's (if it is not in print at Amazon you can find it at abebooks.com). For those of us that have looked into the practical and political history of the Christian Church much more can, and likely will, be said.

Let me stop here and mention that nothing negative about the wondrous life and teachings of the one known as the Christ is being presented here. It is about those that came later that we question; we question their reasons and the politics behind their reasoning. Many may be impugned, but not Christ himself.

Another modern footnote is the PASSION OF CHRIST by Mel Gibson. I call it a footnote because once the dust storm has passed and everyone's eyes have cleared that is all it will be, another limited version of the Church's story. In the press they mentioned that Gibson's father said there was no holocaust. When asked about this Mel replied that he had never known his father to lie. Please pass the laughing gas! The victorious write the history books.

Okay we will go back to the book we are theoretically reviewing, “The DaVinci Code.” If you like dime novels and potboilers this one is for you. Plenty of suspense is available if you are able to follow the many abrupt jumps and twists within the storyline. A fine book if you are looking for light reading or if it kick-starts your investigation into the past.