In today’s RBL (Review of Biblical Literature) email I found a review on this worthwhile title by Mark Allan Powell:

Jesus as a Figure in History, Second Edition: How Modern Historians View the Man from Galilee

I have the older edition of this work and it’s quite good — very good survey’s of the various views. I’ll be picking up this revised work.

Here’s a description:

This thoroughly revised edition of the best-selling textbook provides an in-depth survey of current historical Jesus studies. Beginning with a brief discussion of early Jesus-quest research and methodologies, Mark Allan Powell develops insightful overviews of some of the most influential participants in the field today, including Marcus Borg, Jon Dominic Crossan, John Meier, E. P. Sanders, and N. T. Wright. Powell has expanded his original work with completely new material to reflect the latest scholarship.

And, from the first paragraph of the review:

This second edition is considerably revised from the earlier volume. According to Powell, this volume is 50 percent longer, and about a third of the volume contains completely new material. While the basic structure of the book remains the same, Powell has added more scholars to the “snapshots” chapter and has taken into account additional material written by the “big six” historical Jesus scholars who are the major focus of attention in the heart of the book. In addition, this revised volume contains three new appendices.