The Man Behind the Da Vinci Code: An Unauthorized Biography of Dan Brown

by Lisa Rogak

Traces the life and career of the popular author, from his childhood through his early years of struggle as a writer, and describes the research and writing process behind "The Da Vinci Code."

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

222 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

My new book Propaganda Girls: The Secret War of the Women in the OSS will be published on March 4, 2025.

Lisa Rogak is the New York Times bestselling author of more than 40 books, which have been published in more than two dozen languages. Her books Barack Obama: In His Own Words, and Angry Optimist: The Life & Times of Jon Stewart, hit the New York Times bestseller lists. Haunted Heart: The Life & Times of Stephen King was nominated for both the Edgar and Anthony Awards.

Her books have been reviewed and otherwise mentioned in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, and hundreds of other publications. She appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show as the featured guest in a show about small towns to promote her book, Moving to the Country Once and For All.

She lives in New Hampshire and is currently at work on a memoir.

Reviews

[King · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pmtselt oli see selline pikemavoitu järelsona ykskoik millisele Dan Browni raamatule.
Alguseveerand oli igavavoitu, eriti kuna sai ysna kiiresti aru, et siin peab purema hakkama päris toorevoitu puutolget.

/--/kultuslik rollimäng "Vangikongid ja draakonid" - stiilinäide lk 30, hahaa

hiljem oli veel paar pärlit ja trykivigu jms, selle eest hindepall alla

A keskelt läks huvitavaks, sai teada, et tyyp proovis tosiselt profimuusiku karjääri, kahjuks ma ei suutnud kuskilt leida tema stiilinäidet. pakuks, et midagi Mahavoki sarnast tegi kirjelduse järgi.

Siis kirjutati kuidas tänapäeva kommertskirjastamine välja näeb, see jahutasmul nyyd veitsa seda Browni fännamist maha, sest selgus, et tegu on pmtselt tootega mitte niiväga kirjandusega, tyyp on leiutanud valemi - lyhikesed peatykid, salayhingud ja kytab yhte vormelit ( nous )

[drowningmermaid · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick, readable biography. It was far more well-balanced than I expected from something subtitled "unauthorized biography." In fact, it seemed somewhat slanted in Dan's favor, glossing over some generous liberties his books take with facts.

[Maria]

AWESOME book!

[Waleed G.shehatta]

amazing story need open mind to understand

[Gerald Matzke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read Dan Brown’s novels and looking forward to reading the latest one, I enjoyed reading this little biography that I picked up at the Dollar store. The author explored Brown’s background and personality that helps to explain his bent toward symbols and secret codes. Particularly interesting was the fallout from the Da Vinci Code which changed Brown’s life. He was now a wealthy celebrity who became not only a must-read author but also a target for critics, rabid fans and money grabbers seeking to ride Brown’s dust jackets to their own riches. It was a good introduction to reading his current best seller.

[Jothi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ik vond dit boek bij de boekenverkoop van onze bibliotheek.
Dan Brown blijkt een multigetalenteerde man te zijn.
Naast lesgeven en schrijven heeft hij zich ook bezig gehouden met het maken van muziek.
Ook ben ik te weten gekomen hoe zijn interesse voor symbolen en puzzels is ontstaan.
Na het lezen van dit boek ben ik alleen maar een grotere fan van Dan Brown geworden.
Dit is een boek dat ik dan ook ga houden.

[Jennifer Robb · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was my mom's. She's downsizing so she's getting rid of many books. I decided to read this one before donating it.

It's a quick read and written in what I found to be an easy to read style. I've read some of Dan Brown's books but didn't know much about him.

I'm guessing The Solomon Key got a different title? (as I don't remember a book by that name). Or perhaps he bypassed it and wrote a different book from his 12 book plot list plan.

[Susana · Rating 4 out of 5]

El final me parece que es muy abierto, lo cuál no es malo, pero no me deja una buena duda como sucede con muchos libros. Creo que es un poco de falta de creatividad. Quisiera que hubieran explorado más esa parte, aunque el resto del libro es muy interesante y está muy bien planteado. Tiene plot twists que enriquecen la trama y la hacen interesante. Quizá al tener un estilo de escritura tan específico hace que sea pesada la lectura para algunos lectores

[Gerardo Larrain Egusquiza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entretenido cuento, hay que tener la madurez para saber de que se trata de un cuento simplemente y no creer en todo lo que sale. De fácil lectura.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inquietante, al hilo página a página

[Duncan Horne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very nice quick read. It would be great to update this again post-Origin, and then again when Dan finishes writing. It’s a great story!

[Indi · Rating 3 out of 5]

True, it was in some ways like Da Vinci Code, but still it has many new ideas. Unlike Da Vinci Code, it strengthens belief of people. About the perpetual battle between science (presented as satan) and religion. A scientist from CERN with his daughter made a disovery that was to prove the Genesis, creation by God, but along with it, they created antimatter as well - deadly weapon. Camerlango, who was afraid of faith being destroyed in people, made many people sacrifieces in the name of faith, including his father, 4 preferitis, father of Vittoria, director of CERN, and himself. Illuminati was a highly organized ancient society of scientits, who were always persecuted in the course of history by Catholic church, but eventually it turns out that Illuminati was indeed dead, its symbology and history was only used by camerlango to make people fear in order to freshen their faith.
Quotes: Sometimes divine revelation simply means adjusting ur brain to hear what ur heart already knows (when men r put in emotionally charged situations- this results in massively enhanced mental clarity. Solutions to seemingly impossible problems often occur in these moments). Each of us is a god. Each of us knows all. We need only open our minds to hear our own wisdom (Vittoria). THINK!!
Shrouded in a veil of self-righteous intellectuallism. Behold science- the new god of endless miracles, omnipotent and benevolent!No! Who is ur God? One of protons, masses and particle charges? How does ur god INSPIRE? How does ur god reach into the hearts of man..? Man cannot put god's creation in a test tube and wave it around for the world to see! (Camerlango)

[roland simarangkir · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hmmmm..tidak terlalu menggali informasi tentang Dan Brown.

[Tashaeagar]

I really like all books by Dan Brown. I think they are fun!