Psychology and Religion

[thepennyking]

Can Burstein Crack The Da Vinci Code?
Institutional Investor Magazine, Americas and International Editions
February 20, 2004



Before reading The Da Vinci Code last summer, Daniel Burstein, the founder of Millennium Technology Ventures, wasn't much interested in the history of early Christianity. But the bestselling thriller seized his imagination. And like so many readers captivated by the novel's revelations of secret religious societies and assertions of suppressed history -- author Dan Brown suggests, for example, that Jesus Christ married Mary Magdalene -- Burstein wanted to sort truth from fiction.

Now he's doing just that with a book of his own, Secrets of the Code: The Unauthorized Guide to the Mysteries Behind the Da Vinci Code, due out in April. Burstein mines the bestseller's bibliography and related scholarship on early Judeo-Christian thought to shed greater light on Brown's claims.

This won't be the first book for Burstein, who spent 12 years at Blackstone Group before forming Millennium in 2000. He has published five other nonfiction works, including Big Dragon, a look at China's future written with business consultant Arne de Keijzer. Meanwhile, the two are gearing up their own publishing enterprise, Squibnocket Press, named for the Martha's Vineyard beach they frequent. (Secrets of the Code will be published by book distributor CDS.)

As a venture capitalist who loves to read, Burstein is convinced that Squibnocket will be able to attract an audience of professionals who will welcome a chance to buy compendia on a variety of topics, from nanotechnology to blogging. But he has no illusions about the profit margins in publishing. "This is a time-consuming hobby," he says with a laugh. "My day job is still running my fund."