Recommendation: Many codes researchers criticize Michael Drosnin for his Bible codes books, because the matrices are somewhat simplistic and he doesn't provide statistical odds for them. However, I take a different view. He is a skilled writer whose books flow well, and which are written for a general audience with no background in the Bible codes. Bible Code II is worth buying as an interesting look at the Bible codes genre, even if the matrices are just moderately significant.

One facet of Mr. Drosnin's books which annoys Jewish and Christian codes researchers, is that he wears his agnostic views on his sleeve. In Bible Code II, the author promotes the idea of a stele hidden somewhere in the Dead Sea valley, which purports to hold information about aliens planting life on earth in the far distant past (an offshoot view of the panspermia theory). Dr. Francis Crick (Nobel prizewinner in DNA) originated the theory of panspermia where the genesis of life was brought to earth by meteors or a comet. Mr. Drosnin goes further, and suggests that aliens might have intentionally terraformed earth and brought lifeforms here. This theory is in response to critics who note that the Cambrian explosion (where many forms of plant and animal life appeared suddenly in the fossil record) requires some sort of intervention from outside the earth. In reality, from my point of view as a Christian, the Cambrian explosion can be accounted for by divine creation. So...Drosnin's theory is just another alternative to divine creation, leaving God out of the picture. As we all know though, these types of theories just push the idea of divine creation backwards a few steps. Who then created these advanced aliens of Drosnin's theory?

As I have said, Michael Drosnin writes books which flow well and are well written. Not so hard to fathom given his many years working as a reporter for large American newspapers (Washington Post and Wall Street Journal). In Bible Code II, he does have some ELS terms that are phrases or simple sentences, showing that he has progressed in Bible codes research as compared to his first book, The Bible Code. The use of phrases and sentences makes his matrices much more statistically significant, and adds credibility to his work. Even with that, he often quits developing a matrix after 3-5 terms, when we know there is ALWAYS more there waiting to be found.

The book has matrices on many topic areas, and not just those mentioned in my first paragraph above. I recommend the book for purchase, even though I disagree with the "aliens planted us" theory. The main reason is that it is well written, as opposed to some who want to write a highly technical book which turns off the mass of readers, who don't have a technical background. Like TV, a book is entertainment as well as informational, and Michael Drosnin has understood that well in writing Bible Code II.

304 pages, Penguin Books, published 2002 in Hardcover and October 2003 in Papercover, ISBN: 0142003506 in large Trade Papercover, 9.3"x7.4"x0.7".

Available at Amazon.com for $11.36 in Dec. 2006 (retail is $16.00, 30% off) for a new Papercover book. On Amazon you could also buy the Hardcover in "new and used" and get it for ~$1.00 plus shipping for a lightly used book.

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