Due to clever marketing in the media, there is a newly awakened public interest in the early Christian apocrypha. What is often lacking is solid information that meets scientific criteria. Hans-Josef Klauck attempts to fill this gap. A series of seven case studies consolidates the overall theme in an easily readable format. It begins with three gospels that have come to light in the last six decades: the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Judas, and the Secret Gospel of Mark. This is followed by the Acts of the Apostles with their entertaining animal stories, two apocalypses attributed to Paul, the correspondence between Seneca and Paul, and the somewhat neglected Pseudo-Clementines, which among other things depict a magical contest between Simon Peter and Simon Magus. The conclusion is a treatise on diversity.