NEWS & EVENTS

Following is a continuously updated schedule of news and events featuring Prof. Isbouts. Be sure to visit this page often, as the information is refreshed on an ongoing basis.

National Geographic signs Two-Book deal with Jean-Pierre Isbouts

Washington, D.C.—National Geographic Books, a division of National Geographic Society, has signed two new book deals with Prof. Jean-Pierre Isbouts, author of two of its bestselling books, “The Biblical World” (2007) and “In the Footsteps of Jesus” (2012). As part of the new deal, the first book is designed as a sequel to the highly successful “Biblical World,” entitled “The Story of Christianity”, a survey of Christian civilization across the globe from the Roman era to the present. The second is a trade book chronicling ten prayers that played a pivotal role in world events, from the divine inspiration of Joan of Arc to Gandhi’s deeply moving “prayer of peace”, composed on the eve of his death. The deal was negotiated by Global Lion Management, the literary rights firm headed by Peter Miller.

Both new books will follow on the success of “In the Footsteps of Jesus,” released in November of 2012, which was acclaimed by critics across the Christian spectrum. Conceived as a fresh investigation of the Jesus of history, the book draws from traditional texts such as the Gospels, the historian Josephus and the Jewish Mishnah, as well as unconventional sources such as market economics and forensic sociology to recreate the world of 1st century Galilee and Judea.

In November of this year, National Geographic plans to publish an encyclopedic overview of the men and women of the Old and New Testament entitled “Who’s Who in the Bible,” likewise written by Dr. Isbouts, following an intense research effort with six of his doctoral students. Prof. Isbouts currently teaches in two doctoral programs at Fielding Graduate University, a not-for-profit institute of higher learning in Santa Barbara, CA.

“We look forward to working with Jean-Pierre while building on his success as an eminent historian of Judeo-Christian civilization, both past and present,” said Lisa Thomas, Senior Editor at National Geographic Books.

“The Story of Christianity,” a major illustrated hardcover, is scheduled for release in November of 2014, while “Ten Prayers” is tentatively scheduled for spring of 1915. These will be the fourth and fifth book, respectively, written by Dr. Isbouts for National Geographic Books.

For more information, please contact Cathie Labrador at clabrador@pantheontv.com.

Jean-Pierre Isbouts' book on the Mona Lisa to premiere December 7, 2013.

Jean-Pierre Isbouts has been commissioned by Brown Discoveries, LLC to write a book about Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece, the Mona Lisa, based on numerous recent discoveries. For example, in September of 2012 a Swiss consortium announced the discovery of a Mona Lisa autograph portrait, hidden in a Swiss vault for over 40 years. Nine months later, in June of 2013, archaeologists in Florence announced the exhumation of the body of Lisa del Giocondo at the convent of St. Ursula. The book, entitled The Mona Lisa Myth and co-written with Christopher Heath Brown, aims to refute the enormous mythology that's emerged around the Mona Lisa and irrefutably establish the identity of both the Geneva and the Louvre versions.

A major press conference on the book's revolutionary discoveries is scheduled for December 7, 2013 in Beverly Hills, CA.

Pantheon Studios Announces Film based on Isbouts' Book.

Pantheon Studios of Santa Monica, CA has announced its acquisition of the film rights of The Mona Lisa Myth, written by Jean-Pierre Isbouts and Christopher Heath Brown. The 20-year old film company aims to develop the book into a feature-length docu-drama, to be shot on location in Florence in the late fall of 2013. The film is produced by Catherine Labrador, who previously produced Operation Valkyrie, and Peter Miller, whose most recent project is the Tom Hanks film Parkland. For more information please visit www.pantheonTV.com.