I paid...for a book about the apocryphal acts of the apostles and this book contains not one. If a book says it is about something, it should be about that subject not someone else's interpretations of it. After reading it I found that I would have to go to the Harvard Library to see the manuscripts to go along with the book. Do not buy this book.

If you are interested in the aporyphal acts of the apostles then you should look elsewhere because this book contains little about that subject. What the book does contain is a collection of esoteric writings concerning the study of the apocryphal acts of the apostles. For example, the first real "chapter" of the book is a 35 page description of how the major editor, Francois Bovon, researched the apocryphal acts of the apostle Philip. He assures the reader that he will soon publish the subject of his research, the actual acts of Philip, in another book. The rest of the book is similar containing summaries of PhD desertations concerning the research of the apocryphal acts and very little description of the actual acts. Imagine my disappointment when I received the book and the content had little of what the title promised. I must look elsewhere. Shame on you Harvard Divinity School.

This book is not intended to be an introduction to apocryphal literature and those who are looking for such a thing will no doubt be as disappointed as the other reviewers. Rather, this book is an excellent collection of essays illustrating various approaches to apocryphal acts, and would be best used after one had a good grounding in the already published apocryphal acts. The two previously unpublished acts (of Saint John and Ananias) included in this book are well introduced, edited, and have a full textual apparatus.