in history from Princeton University in 1998 after completing an 127-page-long senior thesis, titled The French Popular Front and the Debate over Intervention in the Spanish Civil War, under the supervision of Thomas J.
[2] The plot centers on four Princeton seniors attempting to solve a mystery related to the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, an Italian work from the early Renaissance.
The book was published by Dial Press in 2004, spent 49 weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list and has sold almost 2 million copies.
[3] It was often compared to Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code due to its similar style of teaching history through a fictional plot as well as the proximity in date of publication.
This solo work tells the fictional story of two brothers, both priests, exploring the Diatessaron, the "fifth" gospel, and how it might lead to reconciliation between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.