Rating: 
Summary: Poorly argued
Review: I found the first part of this book OK, but then Baigent and Leigh went all over the place with their theory of a Vatican conspiracy. For starters, over 80% of the Scrolls had been published by the time the book went to press, hoiwever, they tell us that only 25% have been published. Secondly, if there is such a Vatican conspiracy over alternative explanations of the DSS, why does a Vatican publishing house publish Eisenmann's books? Oh dear, there goes the conspiracy theory. The authors date the dfall of Masada in AD 73, 74 and 75 (depending which part of the book you read). Lastly, there is indeed a lot of speculation as to whetrher the Zealot Party existed before AD66, the majority view is that it didnt (see for example JD Crossan). However we read no justification for these assumptions, as page after page, the Gospel of St Eisenmann is called upon.Oh well, theres my tuppence worth
Rating: 
Summary: A great primer for the curious
Review: I had never read anything about the Dead Sea Scrolls until reading this book. It was methodically written, and even though obviously intent on showing that there was a "deception" or conspiracy to hide or obscure the content and meaning of the Scrolls, it nevertheless provides an excellent primer on the essential historical questions surrounding recent New Testament scholarship. The authors have supplied and clarified many key points of an overall thesis for readers, like me, who find thinking and questioning to be stimulating. In addition, it is quite readable, unlike some other books by "biblical scholars."
Rating:
Summary: A great primer for the curious
Review: I had never read anything about the Dead Sea Scrolls until reading this book. It was methodically written, and even though obviously intent on showing that there was a "deception" or conspiracy to hide or obscure the content and meaning of the Scrolls, it nevertheless provides an excellent primer on the essential historical questions surrounding recent New Testament scholarship. The authors have supplied and clarified many key points of an overall thesis for readers, like me, who find thinking and questioning to be stimulating. In addition, it is quite readable, unlike some other books by "biblical scholars."
Rating: 
Summary: Could be upsetting to some people
Review: I originally got interested in the Dead Sea Scrolls because of references in the anime series Neon Genesis: Evangelion. I wanted to see if they truly used information from them or just took some creative liberty. At the moment, I still don't have that answer. I also had no clue what I was going to find in the process. This book is well written and references several different works. I'm not going to base my view on one source. I feel The Church has lied to people in the past - in some cases feeling it was best not to upset people's beliefs. The idea of material being hidden is not too far fetched. The authors attitude is understandable at the time they were writing it since they felt scholars were being cut off from a great find. The book doesn't seem to be well balanced, but I do understand their point of view. In response to one reviewer, using the references in the index, Masada is consistantly mentioned as falling in 74 AD. The Postscript mentions that most of the Scrolls have been published after the American edition of this book went to press. Personally I have only seen two books translating any parts of the scrolls - Eisenman and Wise's book and Allegro's book. Anyone with strong religious beliefs may not accept everything these authors have to say. There are suggestions that chip away at the foundations of Christianity, and they do make sense. I don't know if I totally agree with them, but I see where the ideas are coming from. As with any religious debate, you have to decide what works for you. I do like this book, but I would recommend reading other material before finalizing any personal choices.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, but no leg to stand on
Review: I picked up "Dead Sea Scrolls Deception" in my quest to get all the contreversial works by Baigent, Leigh and the rest. I really enjoyed "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" and "The Stone and the Elixir", works that although I didn't wholly agree with, I still found intriguing and fascinating. This book, however, I found to be overbearing and overconfidant. The "Deception" in question refers to a possible coverup of certain scrolls that were found at the site of Qumran. According to the authors, the scrolls that were publicly shown were only a small percent of the cache of artifacts found at the site. These were basically biblical texts, not too contreversial. The scrolls that were suppressed, however, apparantly held information that gave an alternative and groundshaking origin of Christianity. Earth shattering? Hardly. Some of the claims that the authors make here seem too far-fetched to have taken place. The early chapters dealing with the actual cover-up seemed to be taken from the script of a Hollywood suspense film. It just seemed too cut-and-dried. Of course, every agent of the Church is a stuck up evil fascist who would rather burn books than read them, while those who fight against the cover-up are faultless investigators struggling for the "truth". I find it extremely hard to believe that biblical scholars up until the point of the publication of this book have been getting it all wrong, and it takes the handful of reasearchers in the book to find "the hidden truth". What bothers me the most is the lack of counter-arguments in the book. The authors gleefuly point out the mistakes of others when it serves their cause, but never seem to anticipate and thus tackle arguments against their findings. Just once I'd like to hear "well, we did get these wrong, but know we have this to prove us right". Instead we're given pristine research and blemishless results. Definately an interesting read, but I beg the authors not to make another "earth-shattering" claim without hiring at least more than one researcher next time.
Rating:
Summary: Big buildup then a whimper...
Review: I've read other books by Baigent and Leigh, they are typically quite interesting and thought provoking (their minds work in twists and turns that are intriguing to me). But this book left me flat. I read a different version of this book, I think the second printing of it. They built up a lengthy story of how the scrolls were suppressed and hidden and how there were undoubtedly amazing secrets within which we were being wilfully denies access to. Then in the very last page they announce that in fact a University in California has the complete scrolls and are publishing them all. So much for the secret pact to prevent us from knowing the truth. The book is interesting for the historical perspective and of course for the intrigues and twists Baigent and Leigh always toss in, but it left me pretty flat with that revelation (Saved for the absolute end, no less).
Rating:
Summary: Another Dr. Scott recommendation
Review: Much better than I expected it to be. I read "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" with my hands fisted in aggravation, so I fully expected this tome to give me the same reaction, but instead, I found it much more grounded in verifiable research and historical fact (as opposed to wild leaps of logic as in HBHG). Clearly, the authors do not believe that Jesus was the Son of God, but rather a mere mortal (although perhaps of royal blood - whatever THAT'S supposed to mean), but this book is much less concerned with spiritual matters than it is with the primordial stew that gave birth to Christianity. Being a Christian, I don't find any of this sacriligious. As Dr. Eugene Scott often says, and I became aware of this book from one of his broadcasts, "You don't have to leave your brain outside the church to be a Christian." It is frustrating to realize that the scrolls have never been released en masse for the public and scholars to research, review, debate, etc. It would be as if Watson and Crick had said, "We've discovered that the building block of life is the double helix strand and over the next fifty years we will slowly, ever so slowly, release fragments of our research. Thankyouverymuch."
Rating:
Summary: Another Dr. Scott recommendation
Review: Much better than I expected it to be. I read "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" with my hands fisted in aggravation, so I fully expected this tome to give me the same reaction, but instead, I found it much more grounded in verifiable research and historical fact (as opposed to wild leaps of logic as in HBHG). Clearly, the authors do not believe that Jesus was the Son of God, but rather a mere mortal (although perhaps of royal blood - whatever THAT'S supposed to mean), but this book is much less concerned with spiritual matters than it is with the primordial stew that gave birth to Christianity. Being a Christian, I don't find any of this sacriligious. As Dr. Eugene Scott often says, and I became aware of this book from one of his broadcasts, "You don't have to leave your brain outside the church to be a Christian." It is frustrating to realize that the scrolls have never been released en masse for the public and scholars to research, review, debate, etc. It would be as if Watson and Crick had said, "We've discovered that the building block of life is the double helix strand and over the next fifty years we will slowly, ever so slowly, release fragments of our research. Thankyouverymuch."
Rating:
Summary: Deceptive
Review: My impression was that the Dead Sea Scrolls Deception would seek to explain the interpretations and misinterpretations of the Dead Sea Scrolls. In reality, little is even mentioned of the context of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
More than half of the book details the history of the scrolls and how they have been possessed by a number of people who have not decoded the scrolls quickly enough. The authors seem to arrogantly think interpreting the writings could be done quickly. The authors go on to criticze the Catholic Church's position on the scrolls. The Catholic Church was unwilling to allow others to aid in interpretation and any other opinion was blasphemy. While the Catholic Church is flawed, the book did not need to focus so much time making that point. This is not what I was hoping to read about it this book. The last chapters document some of the more wild interpretations of scripture based on the archaeological evidence. These chapter were better than the first several chapters, but still a bit out there.
For interested readers, The Gnositic Gospels and Beyond Belief by Elaine Pagels are books about recent findings of scrolls that are much more informative and focused.
Rating:
Summary: Shocking truths revealed!!!
Review: Not to be read by people who don't want to shatter their beliefs! The book reveals how the religous establishment tried to cover up some shocking evidence on Jesus!!!
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