Rook is the expert here, but I've heard good thing about Deconstructing Jesus, by Robert Price.  Generally, anything you can find by Price or Richard Carrier is going to be pretty good.

Thanks for the feedback. I wrote down the authors and am currently looking up their collected works. It seems to me that there is very little said about the potential non existence of a historical figure named Jesus from the Bible. I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe I have been doing my research in all the wrong places This interests me a lot, though. I am very excited to read books by people who have looked into the issue in depth.

I can understand how scholars could have a hard time with the idea, and I do understand about grants. I just don't understand why it's a new idea. There seems to be precious little more than assumptions regarding the potential life of Jesus. To me it seems like, at best, "Jesus" existed as fragments of myths throughout time (ex: Krishna etc) that someone just put together  to make some moral of some story cooler and more culturally accurate or some such nonsense. Most of the books and articles I have read have argued Christianity without taking into account even once arguing Jesus, whom the whole religion is "based" on. It seems to me that if one is to argue Christianity, all aspects of it should be argued STARTING with the figure of Jesus. I guess in my search to fully educate myself I am starting on a quest to understand the roots of this mythical man.

I have heard that there isn't one shred of archeological proof existing to even remotely prove that this man ever graced the planet. My mother-in-law, a born again who never ceases to amaze me with her beliefs, says that there are "footprints" somewhere in Israel that "prove" that Jesus walked on that ground. 

Uh huh. That sure is enough to sway me (sarcasm intended).

Thanks for your insight. I looked up the book "Deconstructing Jesus" and it looks fantastic. I can't wait to read it!

You mean the dragon from "Neverending Story"?

...

Oh... Maitreya!!!.... right.... I thought you meant Atreyu, that devilishly clever boy who saved the world from something or other while bad 80s music kept playing in the background...

There are conspiracy theorists everywhere, even in atheism.  It's rather unfortunate but it does put a large (warranted) dent on our stance, and a lot of misinformation out there especially when it comes to jesus mythicism.  When reading anything, try to keep an open mind and not just believe everything you're told because it's on paper.  Think for yourself as you're reading, "Does this make sense?"  Just because two things have similarities, it does not mean that one spawned from another. 

One good example I like to use is xmas.  As an atheist/non-christian/whatever do you yourself celebrate xmas?  Do you decorate your house?  Do you put up a tree?  Do you put up tinsel and lights?  Do you have big meals with your direct and extended families?  Do you hand out presents?  Seeing as I don't have time to wait for a response to these questions, I'm going to assume you do so I can continue with my point.  Why?  I am willing to bet the answer is that the answer to "why?" is something along the lines of it being family tradition.  It's what you've always done, it's what you enjoy, so you keep doing it.  Nothing more, nothing less.

Conspiracy theorist jesus mythicists and conspiracy theorist atheists (as seen in the movie Zeitgeist, Acharaya S books, and the book you mentioned) see the link between pagan rituals and the things christians did and they think that was a contributing factor in the spawning of christiantiy.  It's much more likely that Dionisians, Pagans, and people of other religions converted to christianity (whether forced or at their own will, it doesn't matter) but continued doing these celebrations at the same time every year in the same method, for the EXACT same reason you still celebrate xmas.  No conspiracy theory, nothing was stolen, it's just what the people always did in the past, so it's what they want to do going forward, and it got adopted in that way.  Nothing to do with the formation of the religion at all.

 Just to weigh in with my own very tepid opinion, I don't know if there was a historical Jesus.  Personally, I don't think it matters too much because if there was, he wasn't particularly important.  I mean, nobody mentioned him for twenty years.

My best guess is the Gospels are 99% fiction, if not 100%.  That's not to say they weren't based on somebody who really lived, but for crying out loud, Wonder Woman was a character based on somebody who really lived.

The Achyara crowd are looking for a grand conspiracy.  I just don't think there was one.  I think there was just a Jewish writer trained in Greek who thought up a pretty neat story incorporating a bunch of legends he'd read or heard.

Those events in no way demonstrate thet the person involved was actually The Matreiya as imagined in the Myth.