Reviews for Identity Papers: Scenes of Contested Nationhood in Twentieth-Century France

The average rating for Identity Papers: Scenes of Contested Nationhood in Twentieth-Century France based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2019-06-19 00:00:00 Thomas Perryman I gave this book 1 star because it almost always contradicts all of the other books I've been reading about The Da Vinci Code that I don't know if I can believe it. Don't get me wrong--I don't think those books are 100% correct (I don't know one way or another), and I have no problem with the idea that this book might be correct (conspiracy theories and alternate histories and all that); my problem comes with the fact that 9 books I've read say one thing, and this one, lonely book says the opposite. Maybe this book is the one telling the truth, I don't know. But that whole Law of Large Numbers-type thing would seem to imply (roughly) that if 9 books say one thing, and *1* book says the opposite, maybe that 1 book is the one that's ... wrong? Maybe "wrong" isn't the right word, but ... it doesn't fit with the others. And again, I have no problem with the idea that maybe *this* is the one that's telling it like it is, but the other thing that bothers me is that Lunn doesn't cite sources. Yes, he gives a Bibliography/References/Recommended Reading in the back, but he doesn't match up the "facts" he states with where he got them. If he could point to me *where* or from what source he decided that Jesus WAS DEFINITELY MARRIED (despite what all of the other books say), then I'd be more likely to trust this book. As it is, though, there's no source, so this could either be a poorly documented Truth, or the rambling of a mad man. How is the reader supposed to know? Without sources, he's basically just preaching to his choir -- those who already share the same beliefs will believe his book, but those who don't share the beliefs or just aren't sure won't (or shouldn't) be swayed. Some of the books in the Bibliography/Recommended Reading are also books that other books have said are misguided and fooled, so ... that adds to the "Wha??" aspect. Lunn also seems to sound like the Priory of Sion *wasn't* a hoax, which most of the other books agree it was, or at least the Pierre Plantard incarnation of it (Lunn doesn't sound like he thinks Plantard forged anything), so that was another red flag for me that maybe something's a little hinky here. The book is published by The Disinformation Company, and *that* makes me wonder if it's supposed to be a joke.

Review # 2 was written on 2012-02-12 00:00:00 Daniel Labrecque If you've ever read or seen The Da Vinci Code, you'll agree how thought-provoking it is, as it's based on mysteries that date back thousands of years, like secret societies, cults, the Holy Grail, and secret identities of famous historical figures such as Da Vinci, Newton, and Jesus. It introduces a lot of history most people don't know about, and while the book is fiction, the author says the history is all accurate. Was it? The book begs for a non-fiction companion to explore the claims, hence Da Vinci Code Decoded. For the most part, yes, The Da Vinci Code was accurate. Dan Brown took some artistic liberties, but not many. The real issue with The Da Vinci Code, like most subjects that are quickly covered for the sake of fitting into a storyline, is that it just doesn't give the whole picture. So, The Da Vinci Code Decoded mostly just fills in the blanks. Although the writing of this book isn't very engaging, certainly not like The Da Vinci Code, it's more real. It's packed with tons of information. It almost feels encyclopedic. But the subject matter is so riveting that it makes up for it. And it's a short book, so it ends before it ever starts to feel dull.