“ As one who has written mainly on the first 325 years of Christianity and The Da Vinci Code, it is a pleasure to recommend a book that covers additional questions so well. The Da Vinci Hoax is loaded with detail and corroborates many observations I also made. It is a responsible response to the misguided claims of the novel.”
--Darrell L. Bock, Ph.D.,
Author, Breaking the Da Vinci Code

"You'll save yourself precious time and money, and hang on to your common sense, if you skip The Da Vinci Code and go straight to Carl Olson's and Sandra Miesel's wonderful The Da Vinci Hoax. Conspiracy theories are always alluring, but nothing satisfies like the truth -- and Olson and Miesel do a superb job of defending the Catholic faith against one of the strangest pieces of fiction of our time."
--Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.
Archbishop of Denver

"Finally! Someone has taken the trouble to counter the absurdities of The Da Vinci Code, and to confront all the anti-Christian and anti-Catholic rhetoric that book has inspired. In writing their own well-informed and well-argued text, Olson and Miesel have done a real service, not just to Christians, but to anyone weary of contemporary fads and foolishness. And unlike the original Code, The Da Vinci Hoax is a delight to read."
--Philip Jenkins
Distinguished Professor of History and Religious Studies, Pennsylvania State University

“In The Da Vinci Hoax, Carl Olson and Sandra Miesel bring their considerable analytical powers to bear on the phenomenally successful novel by Dan Brown. The Da Vinci Code is a writhing nest of neo-Gnostic myths, blatant falsehoods, half-truths and absurd suppositions presented as facts--indeed, it is one of the most odious cases of revisionist history that have appeared during the past two centuries.
Olson and Miesel dissect it carefully--break the code of the Code, as it were--revealing not only Brown’s distortions of history but the underlying malice in his ‘fictional’ attack on Christianity. The Da Vinci Hoax is more than a refutation of a single book; it is an antidote to a poisonous genre that is growing in contemporary writing. This is a fascinating read and very good medicine!”
--Michael O’Brien
Author, Father Elijah: An Apocalypse

“The title of this book by Carl Olson and Sandra Miesel says it all. The authors of The Da Vinci Hoax deserve our gratitude for exposing in considerable detail and with a sure touch the fabrications of Dan Brown’s book. Theirs is the definitive debunking.”
--Cardinal Francis George
Archbishop of Chicago

“I’ve painfully watched some usually-sensible university students fall victim to The Da Vinci Code disease. I’ll enjoy having this clearly-written antidote to prescribe.”
--Marvin Olasky
Professor, The University of Texas at Austin

Editor-in-chief, World Magazine“Olson and Miesel have done a superb and meticulous job of dissecting the fraud which is The Da Vinci Code. Not only Christians, but all fair –minded people owe them a debt of gratitude.”
--James Hitchcock
Professor of History, St. Louis University

“It has become a commonplace to say that anti-Catholicism is the last acceptable prejudice. Our popular culture is awash with it, and there is no better example than The Da Vinci Code. The best-seller stirs a little fact into much fiction, and the result is a skewed presentation of the origins of Christianity, a grotesque portrayal of its Founder, and a caricature of the Church he established. Countless readers finish the book thinking it has brought to light long-hidden truths, but the real truth is that they have been hoodwinked.”
--Karl Keating,
Author, What Catholics Really Believe

“"The Da Vinci Hoax," by Carl E. Olson, editor of Envoy, a Catholic magazine, and Sandra Miesel, a trained medievalist and veteran Catholic journalist, is the latest and perhaps the most thorough (amply sourced and footnoted) and engrossing of the many anti-Brown books that have emerged as sales of "The Da Vinci Code" itself have soared.”
--Charlotte Allen,
De-Bunking Da Vinci, Washington Times, August 1, 2004

“Mr. Olson and Mrs. Miesel write gracefully, wear their erudition lightly, and have produced a work that is far more readable, intelligent and valuable than the novel it debunks.”
--Charlotte Allen,
De-Bunking Da Vinci, Washington Times, August 1, 2004

“Olson and Miesel's research is impressive and thorough, and the commentary is well-written and entertaining. There are a significant number of footnotes, references and cross-references, and a comprehensive bibliography - something readers won't find in The Da Vinci Code.”
--Hannah Byrd,
The Da Vinci Hoax, Townhall.com :: Reviews, January 1, 2005

“You'll find here levels of detail and background unknown in the other books, and you'll also find depth on subjects many of the other books don't touch. ... Olson and Miesel deserve three thumbs up for depth of research (see inside for what a bibliography and notes should look like), clear presentation, and depth of coverage.”
--James Patrick Holding,
Evangelical apologist and head of Tekton Apologetics Ministries, See Full Review

“[Olson and Miesel] provide a wealth of richly detailed historical and theological information in their extensive volume. Chapters are arranged topically and thoroughly cover the subject under discussion, whether it's Gnosticism or the Knights Templar or Leonardo's art. More than the other titles, this book looks at the cultural and religious factors that have combined to contribute to the success of DVC.”
--Marcia Ford,
Writer, FaithfulReader.com, See Full Review

“Upon perusal, the book by Olson and Miesel seemed the best of the bunch, and it turned out to be by far the most sustained, serious, and devastating expose of the flagrant errors and misrepresentations in Mr. Brown's novel. I am saying this even though I am an atheist and the two authors are avowed Christians ... Recommended as an anti-dote to anyone doubting his or her historical knowledge and/or sanity after reading Mr. Brown's novel; atheist and Christian alike.”
--Branislav L. Slantchev,
http://www.gotterdammerung.org, atheist website, August 29, 2004