The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown may certainly be a good thriller. I'm not suggesting one way or the other that people should not read the book or not watch the movie. The only point I'd like to make is that the reason some people are upset with the book is it is being presented as a historical novel.

It has been said that in a novel of this sort one expects the main story to be fiction and the background information to be true/accurate. This story appears to be a bit tricky in that it is the background material that is the real story and the main story line is just a vehicle to advance the claims that Brown makes in the background material.

I guess the real problem with it (besides Brown stating in his book and in interviews that all his claims are based on fact) is those people who read the book or watch the movie hoping to learn something about history will be misinformed and misled. I've read many reader reviews and blogs that are supportive of the book and the claims in it saying things like "wow! I never knew that about XXXX" when the truth is XXXX is fabricated or distorted by Brown.

I find the actual history more interesting than Brown's story and I had fun looking into the claims that he makes and have consolidated these claims with the facts side by side on the attached spreadsheet (pdf). This is not meant to be an attack on The Da Vinci Code (or fans of it), just a means of helping people understand which of Browns claims in the "background" material are fiction.

Enjoy (or not). After this I am off my Da Vinci Code soapbox. My intent was not to address everything Dan Brown got wrong in his book but is an intended as an overview of the history and art that Dan Brown not only got wrong but defends. It is hopefully an entertaining look at the topics Brown covered from a real historical perspective.

Click here for Walking Through The Da Vinci Code.

Another good article can be read at: www.movieguide.org/stopdavinci.pdf.