When I first plunged back into apologetics a couple of years back, this was one of the first books that I picked up --- and am I ever glad I did! For the beginner and the lay reader, this is a veritable cornucopia of information on the latest evangelical scholarship on the historical Jesus.

As I look back at this book now, I find that it was one of the most helpful that I read. Several essays by leading evangelical scholars make for excellent springboards for further study. My one regretful comment here is that further study has made half of this book redundant. McKnight's essay on the Third Quest is far outdone by the work of Ben Witherington; Habermas' essay on miracles is far superseded by his own later book on the topic; Yamauchi's chapter on the secular references to Jesus is now mostly ho-hum, and Craig's item on the resurrection is more of the same that he seems to publish for just about everybody.

But do not be discouraged! If you are new to apologetics, or just want some faith-building reading, all of this will be both fresh and refreshing, along with the remaining essays: Blomberg's expose' of the Jesus Seminar and Beck's item on oral tradition are extremely helpful; Evans' essay is an all-too-brief look at the "certain facts" about Jesus' life (using a pointed comparison to Jesus ben Ananias), and Geivett takes a no-holds-barred approach on the exclusivity of Christianity.

I rate this one of the top ten books for starters. Jesus Under Fire is a work guaranteed to set your heart and mind aflame.