I have read the book and seen the movie and have been heartily intrigued by both, but never once was ever convinced that it was anything but FICTION. Despite the amount of research and effort put forth by Dan Brown, it is currently and will be for all time, FICTION. I managed a bookstore when the book was released and watched it sit at the number one spot on several sales lists in the FICTION column. The Library of Congress classifies the book as FICTION under several catergories. I understand that the written word carries a bunch of clout with a bunch of people, and many people whole-heartedly believe everything they read, but the peolpe saying that this book is forcing them to question their faith and protest and news agecies have art historians and theologians on primetime interviews to refute the "facts" in a work of FICTION! Are these people so weak in their beliefs that they can be shaken to their very foundation by a work of FICTION? I understand that this is not the first time for this type of incident (Rushdie and The Satanic Verses), but this one is way out of hand, and i just don't get it, can somebody clarify, please.