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Rating: 
Summary: Savagely Funny, Erudite Travel Book/Historical Speculation
Review: A real treat for people who enjoy odd speculation and info on obscure religions and historical topics. Wonderful talent for mordantly hilarious descriptions of today's Iran. One of the few books I would ever read twice (as I am now doing). Deduct two stars if you dislike foul language (his Iranian guide speaks little else), deduct three stars if you are a Christian who can't stand to have unexamined assumptions challenged, deduct four stars if you are an Islamic fundamentalist. No, five.Fun and scholarly (but no bibliography! boo hiss!).
Rating:
Summary: A journey in every sense of the word!
Review: Ah, the magi... or wisemen. Characters introduced to us at a wee little age. How many people do you think could actually tell you who they were? This author sets out to find the real truth behind their esoteric mystery. He uses along with the canonized gospels the writings of Marco Polo, who has his own story of the Magi-Zoroastrian priests. I think the book could have done a better job of organizing its research, but since it captivated my interest I am generous in presenting it 4 stars. The author traveled over seas to find the places that Marco had spoken of in the far past, and succeeded. Many of the chapters are autobiographical of his foreign adventures and encounters in his 1st person experiences. His story has the diversity of elements that you might find in a work of fiction. At many times his writing tone is rather sardonic, and at times comedic. I do recall a few phrases he flung out within his writing styles that were rather corny though. His partner, Reza, serves as the comic relief, using more cuss words than clean words. He meets some very interesting characters throughout from a Mandaen priest to Yazeedi Satan-worshippers in places from bookstores to mosques to ancient sites and ruins. Told you it was interesting! Note: Khazzari is a very intriguing personality whom he encounters.. ( ~are not all religions one???~ ) He spends some time touring through ancient religion in Egypt, Israel, and Persia, etc. -- Zoroastrianism, Essene Judaism-Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, etc. He actually is astray of the subject of the Magi probably a bit too much. As far as truth value, I know there are some things in here FAR less than what can be termed accurate. The one that sticks out like a sore thumb is the Essene Jesus. I usually comment when I scoff at someone advocating the Essene Sectarian hypothesis of the Qumran Community. Wa-ho!! I should have kept my mouth shut! Not only does he mention this, but that Jesus and his family were PART of the Essene community and many other fatuities in the vein of Barbara Theiring. There was no bibliography for me to verify this, but he really sounded like one who got a just a bit too excited by, oh, 'The Hiram Key'. However, DEFINITELY, I recommend this work. The visits to the historical places that were mentioned in Marco Polos "Travels" are fascinating!
Rating: 
Summary: Not exactly inspirational
Review: An interesting hybrid, combining a travelog of contemporary Iran, Iraq, and Syria with a historical survey of the crystallization of early Christianity. Not for the fundamentalist, but anyone with an open mind will appreciate the scholarship that reaches beyond the traditional sources. Mr. Williams' journalistic style lifts the whole work out of the murk of scholarship. The comic juxtapositions of his experiences on the ground with his historical discoveries make for a lively read. I recommend in particular his reflections on Zoroastrian influences on early Christianity, and his unashamed presentation of an alternative to the Gospel version which dominates European historical treatments.
Rating: 
Summary: Not worth reading
Review: I will keep this short. In his book, Mr Robert clearly states that Catholics may find some of the material disturbing, yet at the same time indicates that he will do his best to present the information in an un-biased manner, as much as is possible. Clearly, this man has an "axe to grind" with not only the Catholic Church but with Christianity in general (see previous works, including, Empire of the Soul). I bought the book believing it would be an interesting travel narrative, with some insights into Zoroastrianism, a religion I knew very little about, but was quite curious of. Instead, I was given a book with some travel information and a whole bunch of quite biased, anti-Catholicism.
Save a tree, do not read the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Great light-hearted read
Review: Paul W. Roberts has written a thoroughly engaging book about the Magi's quest for the infant Jesus. The ill tempered Iranian guide was all too real. Having actually traveled this route myself, I have to say Roberts has captured the mood and atmosphere very accurately. The other book that I recently read which also captured the accuracy of this time and place is the wonderful and controversial "The Autobiography of Jesus of Nazareth and the Missing Years" by Richard G. Patton. Both these books evoke a forgotten and magical route. If your taste is present commentary on historic times, your choice should be "In the search of Jesus". If you want a riveting and original account of the man, choose "The Autobiography of Jesus of Nazareth and the Missing Years". For the best of all worlds, buy both these remarkable books.
Rating:
Summary: Warning to Catholics: heresies defended in this book
Review: The temptation to separate the
Christ of history from the Christ of Faith has been
with us ever since Our Saviour's Ascension.
There is nothing new about it. This book is another attempt.
Along the way the author elicits sympathy for heretics such
as the Cathars (who denied Christ's divinity,
and preached that all matter is evil), but fails to tell us why
they got what they deserved. So,
I suggest you read Hilaire Belloc's
to give you the true story. It has the added benefit
of containing the most sober analysis of Islam you
may ever read.Dr. Roberts uses non-canonical gospels and
other rejected writings in his work extensively.
My question: why are non-accepted sources
trusted and worth study, while canonical writings
are viewed with suspicion? One of Dr. Roberts' main objectives
is to gainsay The New Testament, while trying to
discover the "real" truth. Thus the non-canonical gospels are irresistible.
But there is nothing new here insofar as ALL the early Church fathers were well acquainted with these texts. And these men (more than a millennium closer to
Christ than we are) rejected them precisely because they considered them unreliable. On the plus side, I commend the author in his quest to
elucidate the main objective; he sure did his share of work.
For this I gave him five points to start.
What could have been a 100-page book though was
stretched to three times that length because he
included all the unnecessary trivialities of the trip
(remove one point there), a chronicle tainted by every
profane explicative imaginable.
This kind of expression doesn't fit the serious nature
of the subject. For that I dock him another point. At the end he reveals his true colors,
by his belief that Christ's message
was inspired (divinely? He doesn't say)
but that ALL organized religion is for the birds,
a form of purist thinking I come across
quite often, usually from people attracted to non-conformism. They want
to be informed by religious views because they
know the falsehood of materialism, but
they want to reshape it to fit their own viewpoint,
and extricate themselves from the exigencies
of practicing a faith -- believing the origins were pure,
but that everything got corrupted along the way.
This reveals an ignorance of Matthew 16, where Jesus
gives the first pope (and by implication all subsequent ones) St. Peter
the authority whereby "whatsoever [Peter] shalt bind on
earth shall be bound also in heaven." Likewise the second half
of this verse ("and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall
be loosed also in heaven," a clear instigation of the Catholic tradition
of indulgences) eludes the author's grasp as well, when he
derisively refers to them as "coupons to heaven." The seditious nature of this book needs
to be analyzed by someone with greater scholarly
credentials than I have. Belloc's apologetic works, and
Philip Jenkins' Gospels: How the Search For Jesus Lost its Way>
are good places to start.
Rating:
Summary: An honest book. A-
Review: This book is about the greatest schism of history and how this schism turned to a chasm and ultimately one side was eliminated. It is about the an ideology that originated in a single historical event and perpetuated by the citizens of two super powers, Byzantines and Persians, thus creating a historical rift that became the cause for wars between two super powers. It is about the dead sea scrolls and how the defeated and destroyed left a word for us to hear and at the end it is only their words that remain. It is history, it is life and it must be known. The evidence is all here. The only unknown: which side would Jesus choose if he were alive today? Roberts believes the scrolls, thus he sees the answer to this question there.
Rating:
Summary: Journey to Babel
Review: When I picked up this book I thought the premise sounded intriguing: a researcher retraces the steps of the Wise Men from Persia to Bethlehem, and then writes a book to tell us who they really were. After reading the book, however, I am not certain whether the author actually intends to be taken seriously. His work is a mishmash, alternating between a hilariously profane account of his journey and his philosophical musings about the descent of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam from Zoroastrianism. The result is something resembling "Chariots of the Gods" or one of those books about how the Ark of the Covenant is now secreted away somewhere in Ethiopia, hidden by the Knights Templar and their descendants the Masons. It is hard to give much credence to any of this, and one is tempted to suspect that Roberts is offering it with his tongue planted firmly in his cheek. Do your Christmas reading elsewhere.
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