John Marco Allegro: The Maverick of the Dead Sea Scrolls - Brown, Judith Anne. Eerdmans, 2005. 288p. $25.00, Hardcover. ISBN 0802828493. 296.1.55.092 Allegro, John Marco, 1923-1988. Dead Sea scrolls. Dead Sea scrolls—Relation to the New Testament. Biblical scholars—England—Manchester—Biography. Philologists—England—Manchester—Biography.

Judith Anne Brown provides a look into the work and personal life of her late father, John Marco Allegro, through letters he sent to his eventual wife, his trials and tribulations, and his ongoing search for how God fits into our everyday lives. It is hard to describe him as just another Dead Sea Scroll scholar, although they were all highly regarded in their time; Allegro was a man in search of himself and humanity.

Brown traces her father’s life from his four years in the Royal Navy during World War II, through earning a degree in theology at Manchester University and his work as a Dead Sea Scroll scholar, to the loss of his reputation in 1970 with his book The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross, which proclaimed that the Christian religion was based on a cult practicing frequent drug use and sex.

I highly recommend this book for all congregational libraries. One caveat: some have considered Allegro’s entire work discredited since the 1970 book was published, but they fail to see the other great accomplishments he achieved in his lifetime.

Bob Osser
St. Paul’s United Church
Milton, Ontario, Canada