Jesus: A Very Brief History

A short yet detailed and rewarding look at the historical context of, and evidence for the life of Jesus.

The book does consider the various ancient texts that refer to the story of Jesus both within and (more numerous) outside of cannon, comparing and evaluating them using a secular historical approach. While the author takes a very agnostic approach to the actual person of Jesus, she remains respectful in tone both to the person of Jesus and to the traditions built around that person. The author uses this thread as the centre around which she brings in many fascinating facts about this little corner of the Roman world at a particularly interesting time.