Jesus: A Short Life (John Dickson) was reviewed in the Spectrum section of yesterday’s Sydney Morning Herald (p35):

The argument is simple. The negative and eccentric views of Jesus and Christianity propounded by the likes of Richard Dawkins and John Shelby Spong rely heavily, according to John Dickson, on arguments and evidence that are not widely accepted by most experts who have spent much of their working lives trying to disentangle Historic Jesus from Mythological Jesus.
So what is the truth? Dickson systematically lays out the widely known historical facts about the life of Jesus. Yes, he did exist. Four sources, independent of the Gospels, attest to his existence. He radicalised the Jewish notion of love. He chose 12 apostles because that was the number of tribes of Israel. He shared a final meal with his disciples during Passover; was handed over to Pontious Pilate by a priestly elite; and after he was crucified several men and women claimed to have seen him alive.
This is an excellent primer for anyone interested in the debates about Jesus and Christianity.