In this book Paul Barnett ably demonstrates, by means of historical enquiry, that the claims of the New Testament are possible, likely, and indeed, the only reasonable explanation of first century church history.

Barnett begins his examination with historical writings from outside the New Testament, such as those of Pliny the Younger, Tacitus, and Josephus.  He demonstrates how these people's accounts corroborate the biblical data about Jesus.  Then, after a brief review of the pertinent issues of textual criticism, he moves on to examine the biblical accounts in more detail (see the contents above).

One of the intriguing things about Dr. Barnett's approach is his verification of events in the life of Jesus by beginning with the Pauline epistles, rather than the Gospels as one might expect.  His reasoning for this unusual approach is this: Paul's main purpose in writing was not to provide an accurate biographical account of Jesus' life, thus when we do find detailed information about Jesus in Paul's writings, we can be very confident of its historical accuracy.

This book tackles the issue of the reliability of the New Testament well, and in a non-technical style (although Barnett's scholarly credentials are clearly visible).  It is recommended for educated non-Christians or new Christians who are searching for answers regarding the facts presented in the New Testament.  (For a more technical coverage of similar topics, my father recommends Barnett's Jesus and the Logic of History.)