Rating: 
Summary: Do NOT buy this book
Review: Most of the books in this collection are forgeries. Although some of the books are genuine (or seem to be) the bulk of the book is a waste of time. If you are intrested in Christian/Jewish writing that are not included in the Bible. The Old Testement Pseudepigrapha by Charlesworth and the New Testement Aporypha by Schneemelcher, would be a much better investment.
Rating: 
Summary: Literary Armageddon
Review: Nearly all knowledgeable Biblical scholars realize there have been a wide range of writings attributed to Jesus and his Apostles..... and that some of these were selected for compilation into the book that became known as the Bible.....and that some books have been removed from some versions of the Bible and others have been re-discovered in modern times.
The attention focused on Gnosticism by Dan Brown's DaVinci Code may be debatable, but the fact is that increased attention on academics tends to be predominately positive, so I welcome those with first-time or renewed interest. At least first-timers to Gnosticism are not pursuing the oh-so-popular legends of the Holy Grail, Bloodline of Christ, and Mary Magdalene.
This is great......I seldom quote other reviewers, but there is one reviewer of Pagels' books who confided that he had been a Jesuit candidate and had been required to study a wide range of texts but was never was told about the Nag Hamadi texts. He said:
"Now I know why. The Gospel of Thomas lays waste to the notion that Jesus was `the only begotten Son of God' and obviates the need for a formalized church when he says, `When your leaders tell you that God is in heaven, say rather, God is within you, and without you.' No wonder they suppressed this stuff! The Roman Catholic Church hasn't maintained itself as the oldest institution in the world by allowing individuals to have a clear channel to see the divinity within all of us: they need to put God in a bottle, label the bottle, put that bottle on an altar, build a church around that altar, put a sign over the door, and create rubricks and rituals to keep out the dis-believing riff-raff. Real `Us' versus `them' stuff, the polar opposite from `God is within You.' `My God is bigger than your God' the church(s)seem to say. And you can only get there through "my" door/denomination. But Jesus according to Thomas had it right: just keep it simple, and discover the indwelling Divinity `within you and without you.'"
Here are quickie reviews of what is being bought these days on the Gnostic Gospels and the lost books of the Bible in general:
The Lost Books of the Bible (0517277956) includes 26 apocryphal books from the first 400 years that were not included in the New Testament.
Marvin Meyers' The Secret Teachings of Jesus : Four Gnostic Gospels (0394744330 ) is a new translation without commentary of The Secret Book of James, The Gospel of Thomas, The Book of Thomas, and The Secret Book of John.
James M. Robinson's The Nag Hammadi Library in English : Revised Edition (0060669357) has been around 25 years now and is in 2nd edition. It has introductions to each of the 13 Nag Hammadi Codices and the Papyrus Berioinensis 8502.
The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English (0140278079) by Geza Vermes has selected works....a complete work is more difficult to achieve than the publisher's marketing concept indicates. His commentary generates strong reactions.
Elaine Pagels has 2 books (The Gnostic Gospels 0679724532 and Beyond Belief : The Secret Gospel of Thomas 0375501568) that have received considerable attention lately. For many, her work is controversial in that it is written for popular consumption and there is a strong modern interpretation. She does attempt to reinterpret ancient gender relationships in the light of modern feminist thinking. While this is a useful (and entertaining) aspect of college women's studies programs, it is not as unethical as some critics claim. As hard as they may try, all historians interpret the past in the context of the present. Obviously there is value in our attempts to re-interpret the past in the light of our own time.
If you want the full scholarly work it is W. Schneemelcher's 2 volume New Testament Apocrypha.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, But Dated Commentary
Review: Originally published in 1926, the 1979 edition of this work purports to illustrate religious works "not included" by the compilers of the New Testament. It is an interesting read, with each book prefaced by scholarly opinions of how legitimate the material is. Some books directly echo the accepted New Testament, such as the book `Infancy' and `Mary'; others have the same title, such as `Ephesians', with some of the same ideas as found in the New Testament. Others, such as the books dealing with Pontius Pilate, seem to contain historical inaccuracies (such as who exactly the Roman emperor was at the time), which lead to doubt about authenticity (although it is interesting to read). I would recommend this book, although it is dense, and the print is NOT reader-friendly, as a companion piece to other `apocryphal' literature, but a newer edition might be more instructive.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting, But Dated Commentary
Review: Originally published in 1926, the 1979 edition of this work purports to illustrate religious works "not included" by the compilers of the New Testament. It is an interesting read, with each book prefaced by scholarly opinions of how legitimate the material is. Some books directly echo the accepted New Testament, such as the book 'Infancy' and 'Mary'; others have the same title, such as 'Ephesians', with some of the same ideas as found in the New Testament. Others, such as the books dealing with Pontius Pilate, seem to contain historical inaccuracies (such as who exactly the Roman emperor was at the time), which lead to doubt about authenticity (although it is interesting to read). I would recommend this book, although it is dense, and the print is NOT reader-friendly, as a companion piece to other 'apocryphal' literature, but a newer edition might be more instructive.
Rating:
Summary: After read it, we know exactly why it's LOST
Review: The Title should been just "The Lost" or "The Lost Books", but even implying that they should be in the Bible is stupid. The Bible is all we need.
Rating:
Summary: The Holy Spirit Speaks through Many Souls.
Review: These 26 references are quite enlightening. It makes is more evident that the Holy Spirit speaks
the Lords truths through many non-church-authorized
sources and many other religions. To see this - the same challenge is before all of us, no matter what your religion!
How do we go beyond our restricting religious programming to see
some truth? Truth that is seldom found in the common average
orthodoxies.
Rating:
Summary: Recommended
Review: This book contains 26 literary works from the early Christian Church. These "books" were extant in the early Church, but when the New Testament was officially organized into Canon Scripture (officially accepted books), these were among those left behind. This book was originally published in 1890, reprinted in 1926, and again in 1979. As one might expect with any collection of stories, this one is a mixed bag of good and bad stories. Some of these works are long and tedious, while some are short and don't seem to contain anything new. However, all of them allow a fascinating glimpse into the thoughts of various factions within the early Church. Personally, I enjoyed The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to Seneca, with Seneca's to Paul, and the Epistles of Clement. I highly enjoyed this book and recommend it to you.
Rating:
Summary: awsome
Review: This book is a must read for any bible student. True some of these books are writtrn by early gnostics, but some of the letters written are from the early church fathers. Read how st.ignatius defends the doctrine of the trinity and calls the Lord Jesus his God. Read the awsome letters of st. clement. These books and letters may not be inspired by the Holy Spirit, but is certainly good history to read.
Rating:
Summary: Worth owning; other editions have better notes
Review: This is a reprinting (no updates) of a text published in 1928. It contains Christian (New Testament) "apocrypha and pseudepigrapha" (hereafter NTAP) -- books which some considered to be scripture in the past, but which were not included in the canonical Bible as used by mainstream Christians today. This book (available in several different printings, sometimes bound with "The Lost Books of Eden") is the most economical way
to get acquainted with this material. It includes some simple critical notes describing the origins of these texts are included. If you have a larger budget, the current standard edition (available through AMAZON.COM) is Schneemelcher's "New Testament Apocrypha." The original publication dates are important here, because biblical archaeology and textual studies have progressed substantially in the past seventy years. For example, this book predates the discovery of the apocryphal Gospel of Thomas, and accordingly does not include it. The NTAP is the source of many Christian traditions. For instance, many believe that Mary's mother was Saint Anne. The only written source for this information is the "Protovangelion", in the NTAP. On the other hand, The "Infancy Gospel", included in this book, claims to tell stories of the early days of Jesus's life. I think any committed Christian reading the "Infancy Gospel" would understand why the Church Fathers believed it was not Inspired and therefore did not include it in the canonical Bible. It presents Jesus as divine, yet also having the personality of a five-year-old boy. For example, one of his playmates maltreats him, so: "When the Lord Jesus was coming home in the evening with Joseph, he met a boy who ran so hard against him, that he threw him down; To whom the Lord Jesus said `As thou hast thrown me down, so shalt thou fall, nor ever rise.' And that moment the boy fell down and died." (I infancy, Ch. XIX, vv. 22-24)
Rating:
Summary: LOST BOOK????
Review: This lost book thing is thankfully a small monority of people. There is some ignorant and prejudice speculation as to WHY the particular books of the NT where selected and others discarded. But noone seems interested in HOW the particular books where selected and the author offers no explaination. Just to let you know the criteria was that each letter had to show:
1)That it was of Apostolic Origin 2)It had to mention the Cross[even Hebrews implies the Cross] 3)Most important: it was already being taught and preached in the Church.
This criteria is good enough then why not now? If anyone wants to read the LOST BOOKS get yourself a copy of The New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha {NRSV}. Stick with the FOUND BOOKS.
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