Hi.  I guess that this isn't your typical question, but I figured that you guys would be able to help me.  I am doing a project where you pick a famous person, research them, and then make a presentation to persuade a panel of judges (the teachers) to vote your person into an imaginary "world hall of fame".  I decided to pick Jesus.  But my teacher said that He would be "hard" to find accurate resources on, so I would have to have three by this Friday.  Would you guys know two factual books on Jesus?  I already have the Bible as one resource.  Thank you.
Sincerely,
Honor Student

Dear Honor Student,

There are hundreds of books that are written about the historical life of Jesus.  Let’s start with some of the ancient writings that attest to Jesus’ life.  Apart from the Bible, here is a list of ancient writers that spoke about Jesus.

1. Josephus, the Jewish historian, wrote multiple times about Jesus in his book, Antiquities.
2. The historian, Thallus, mentions the darkness that fell over the land at the time of Jesus’ death.
3. The Roman historian, Tacitus, wrote of Jesus’ crucifixion at the hands of Pontius Pilate.
4. Pliny the Younger recorded the practices of early christians and their worship of the man Jesus.
5. The Babylonian Talmud confirms Jesus’ crucifixion just before Passover and the accusations against Jesus.
6. Mara Bar-Serapion, a Syrian who lived sometime between the late first century and the early third century, wrote a letter to his son (which is preserved in the British Museum) that mentions Jesus as a wise man that was put to death for His wisdom.

These aren’t the only writings on the topic of the historical Jesus, but they are certainly the oldest.  Two great modern books that cover the historicity of Jesus of Nazareth are More Than A Carpenter by Josh McDowell and The Case For Christ by Lee Strobel.   SB