Secrets of Inferno: In the Footsteps of Dante and Dan Brown

by Dan Burstein (Editor), Arne De Keijzer (Editor)

Overview

SECRETS OF INFERNO is a reader's guide to the journey Dan Brown took us all on in INFERNO. The book gives readers the "back story" on particular plot points, Dante references, symbols, historical events, philosophy, art, music, and architectural works that Brown wrapped into his story. It is also an intellectually enriching, intriguing, fresh and fun look at Dante, THE DIVINE COMEDY, the world of ideas circulating in Florence on the cusp of the Renaissance, and the relevance of those ideas to our lives and our world today.Dan Burstein and Arne de Keijzer are the world's leading experts on Dan Brown's fiction. Beginning with their path-breaking SECRETS OF THE CODE, which spent six months on the New York Times bestseller list in 2004, and continuing through four other guidebooks to Dan Brown's fiction (as well as three film documentaries and two special editions of US News), Burstein and de Keijzer have sold more than three million copies of Dan Brown-related commentaries in more than thirty languages. In the wake of each Dan Brown title over the last decade, the media (from the History Channel to CNN to MSNBC to USA Today to the Washington Post) have turned to Burstein and de Keijzer for interpretations of Dan Brown's books, decoding of the hidden symbols and ciphers, explanations of the controversies, and thoughtful separation of fact from fiction in these supremely popular stories that somehow always manage to fascinate our culture well beyond the bounds of their pop fiction genre.The ultimate guide for any Dan Brown fan, SECRETS OF INFERNO is entertaining, thought-provoking, and will make the experience of reading INFERNO richer than you ever imagined.Contributors include:Teodolinda Barolini, Da Ponte Professor of Italian, Columbia UniversitySteven Botterill, Associate Professor of Italian Studies, University of California, BerkeleyJamais Cascio, Distinguished Fellow, Institute for the Future and Senior Fellow, Institute for Ethics and Emerging TechnologiesJoel E. Cohen, Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Professor of Populations at The Rockefeller University and Professor of Populations at the Earth Institute of Columbia UniversityWilliam Cook, Distinguished Teaching Professor of History (Emeritus), State University of New York, GeneseoAlison Cornish, Professor of Italian, Romance Languages, and Literatures department, University of MichiganPaul Ehrlich, Bing Professor of Population Studies, Stanford University, president of Stanford's Center for Conservation Biology, and author of The Population BombGlenn W. Erickson, Professor of Philosophy, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (Brazil)Laurie Garrett, Senior Fellow for Global Health, Council on Foreign Relations and author of The Coming PlagueCheryl Helm, Dan Brown codes and puzzles expertGiuseppe Mazzotta, Sterling Professor of Humanities for Italian, Yale UniversityJulie O'Connor, Fine art photographer and photojournalistDavid Orban, Futurist, CEO of Dotsub, and former chairman of Humanity+David A. Shugarts, Investigative reporter, author of Secrets of the Widow's Son, and contributing editor to the Secrets seriesGregory Stock, Biophysicist, biotech entrepreneur, and founding director of the Program on Medicine, Technology and Society at UCLA's School of MedicineNatasha Vita-More, Chairman, Board of Directors of Humanity+ and author of the "TranshumanistManifesto"

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781611880823
Publisher:	The Story Plant
Publication date:	09/24/2013
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.90(d)

Table of Contents

Editor's Note 13

Introduction: Secrets of Inferno: In the Footsteps of Dante and Dan Brown 25

Section 1 Dante for the Twenty-first Century

Welcome to My Dante Spring Dan Burstein, Creator, author, and coeditor of the Secrets series 25

Dan Brown and the Case of the Wrong Dante Teodolinda Barolini, Da Ponte Professor of Italian, Columbia University 39

Damnation vs. Demography: Contrasting Infernos of Dante and Dan Brown Alison Cornish, Professor of Italian, Romance Languages, and Literatures department. University of Michigan 49

Dante as Humanist, Radical Reformer, and Old Testament-Style Prophet: An Interview with Steven Botterill, Associate Professor of Italian Studies, University of California, Berkeley 57

Letting the Genre out of the Bottle: Dan Brown's Inferno as Modern Parody Glenn W. Erickson, Professor of Philosophy, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (Brazil) 67

Preposterous but Not Absurd: Dan Brown's Inferno Embraces More of Dante's Perspective Than You Might Think Giuseppe Mazzotta, Sterling Professor of Humanities for Italian, Yale University 77

Why Everyone Who Reads Dan Brown's Inferno Could Benefit from Reading Dante's Inferno-and All of the Divine Comedy William Cook, Distinguished Teaching Professor of History (Emeritus), State University of New York, Geneseo 83

Dante to Washington: Gridlock, Partisanship, and Factionalism are Deadly Sins and Will Land You in the Inferno Dan Burstein, Creator, author, and coeditor of the Secrets series 88

Beneath the Veil: Parallel Universes and Inferno Resonances Dan Burstein, Creator, author, and coeditor of the Secrets series 95

Section 2 Bold New World

An Overview of Dan Brown's Arguments on Population Control, Technology, and Trans humanism Arne de Keijzer, coauthor and coeditor of the Secrets series 111

Demografiction Joel E. Cohen, Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Professor of Populations at The Rockefeller University and Professor of Populations at the Earth Institute of Columbia University 122

"You Simply Have to Be Insane to Think that You Can Just Continue to Grow Forever on a Finite Planet": An Interview With Paul Ehrlich, Bing Professor of Population Studies, Stanford University, president of Stanford's Center for Conservation Biology, and author of The Population Bomb 127

The End of the World Isn't as Likely as Humans Fighting Back: An Interview With Jamais Cascio, Distinguished Fellow, Institute for the Future and Senior Fellow, Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 134

I Am Not Zobrist: An Interview With Laurie Garrett, Senior Fellow for Global Health, Council on Foreign Relations and author of The Coming Plague 145

Transhumanism and the Promise of the Future: An Interview With Natasha Vita-More, Chairman, Board of Directors of Humanity+ and author of the "Transhumanist Manifesto" 151

"Whether You Think the Future Makes Sense or It Doesn't, It is Here. Get Used to It": An Interview With David Orban, Futurist, CEO of Dotsub, and former chairman of Humanity+ 161

Nothing Is Going to Be the Same: An Interview With Gregory Stock, Biophysicist, biotech entrepreneur, and founding director of the Program on Medicines, Technology and Society at UCLA's School of Medicine 169

Section 3 Dan Brown Decoded

Dan Brown, the Infernal Novelist David A Shugarts, Investigative reporter, author of Secrets of the Widow's Son, and contributing editor to the Secrets series 183

"I Need Another Clue" Cheryl Helm, Dan Brown codes and puzzles expert 206

Section 4 The Dante Baedeker

Firenze: a Dante Travel Journey Dan Burstein, Creator, author, and coeditor of the Secrets series 217

The Firenze Folio Julie O'Connor, Fine art photographer and photojournalist 230

The Props of Dan Brown: Three Churches of World Significance William Cook, Distinguished Teaching Professor of History (Emeritus), State University of New York, Geneseo 247

Dolci: Musings and Meditations on Dante and Dan Brown Dan Burstein, Creator, author, and coeditor of the Secrets series 252

Acknowledgments 287

Contributors 289