The Bible Code 2: The Countdown: Amazon.co.uk: Michael Drosnin: Books

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The first three days of the DAILY MAIL'S serial has run and it's been the most fantastic coverage. Michael is doing a number of interviews for us down-the-line from the US. He has done two interviews for South Africa and for the UK is doing THE JAMES WHALE SHOW (TALK SPORT) on Monday 9 December and THE PATKENNY SHOW (RTE Radio) on 10 December. I'm still trying to sort out an interview on BBC Radio 4/5 and will have more news on this shortly. The embargo onreview copies is lifted today (4 December) and I know we will get a number of mentions by newspaper columnists - Catherine Bennett is going to mention it

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First Sentence
At 8:48 A.M. on September 11, 2001 I was awakened by the sound of an explosion that changed the world forever. Read the first page

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Customer Reviews

19 Reviews

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2.7 out of 5 stars (19 customer reviews)

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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Bible Code (both editions), 29 July 2004

By

C Thomas (Cardiff, Glamorgan United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Bible Code 2: The Countdown (Paperback)

As a scientist and atheist I purchased this book based on recommendations from my peers. Although many may find its contents disturbing, or that it challenges their systems of belief, it is no reason to judge this book as nonsense. The information contained in this book is thoroughly researched, and is based on a peer reviewed paper which was submitted to a renowned mathematical journal. It is a fascinating read, suitable only for the open-minded who are prepared to accept the contents for what they are...an entertaining book which is based on fact. Any reader is aware that a view expressed n a book may be biased, but I do find that this is not the case. I would recommend this book as it is one that is not only fascinating, but an excellent topic for conversation and debate. Excellent.

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31 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The scam continues, 18 Dec 2003

By

Joachim (Gothenburg) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Bible Code 2: The Countdown (Paperback)

When the original book came out it received an enormous attention. Thankfully some people took to the task to actually analyze and try to explain what Michel Drosnin is doing - fooling his audience using mathematics. Michael Drosnin challenged his opponents with the famous quote "When my critics find a message about the assassination of a prime minister encrypted in Moby Dick, I'll believe them." (Newsweek, Jun 9, 1997). And boy did he get what he asked for. See for yourself:

http://cs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/dilugim/moby.html

So, it's sad to see Drosnin is able to release a new book and continue to fool people like this. And this book does nothing to try to explain the basic combinatorics at work, instead it's more fantastic "predictions" and omnious "findings" like 9/11 that naturally will cause grief and anger.

Do yourself a favour and save your money, don't feed people that (obviously) knowlingly try to sell people vapour. Why not buy a real bible, or a book on basic combinatorics and probability and check out the following web page that explains all about this:

http://cs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/dilugim/torah.html

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22 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars It's not rocket science, it's just statistics...., 26 Mar 2004

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Touring Mars (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)

This review is from: The Bible Code 2: The Countdown (Paperback)

As a story, this makes for an interesting read. As a piece of science, it is pure nonsense. Drosnin combines pseudo-science with religion (never a good idea) and claims to produce evidence that the Bible contains within its text, coded messages about the future (predictions) that have either subsequently come to pass, or have yet to occur. The only problem is, they are all complete baloney.

The reason is obvious to anyone with even a basic grasp of statistics. Using a cypher system known as a skip code (of which the Bible Code is a specific example), it is possible to encode a hidden message into a text. Used in reverse, it is also possible to find certain words/phrases in a text by using a skip code search algorithm. The problem is, it is not only likely to find your chosen word, it is a statistical impossibility NOT to find the word. Infact, a basic search for a simple word like 'towers', in a body of text only a couple of pages long, will yield several hundred results. You may argue what is the harm in doing this? The truth is, there is none. But by the same token, what is the value of doing this? The truth is, again, there is none. Unless the WHOLE sentence or message is revealed by the skip code, then it is meaningless. What Drosner does is to find specific words (of his choosing), that are connected in some context (like 'towers' 'twin' 'airplane' 'new york'), but he is equally likely to find all of these phrases, since there is a 100% probability of finding every word he looks for. Drosner claims that by cross-referencing the hidden skip-code terms with lines of actual text, the messages somehow become truthful and meaningful 'predictions'. But the significance of his results are a by-product of the selection process that Drosner himself creates.

But what is truly objectionable is the way that Drosner purports to tell you trueisms that are simply not what they appear to be. By making sensational claims and attempting to give them credence by linking them with the Bible, Drosner devalues the Bible itself, ignores scientific reasoning, and insults our intellegence.

And if all this doesn't convince you not to waste your money, why not give skip codes a bash yourself? It's easy to find programs on the net that let you search any text you want. It's fun and it's interesting, but it's NOT Nostradamus... it's just maths.

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