Corpus-Paul

["Frank W. Hughes" <fwhughes AT sunbeach.net>]

I'd like to second the recommendation for Calvin Roetzel's, Paul, the
Man and the Myth (Fortress Press 1999).

Not totally out of the ballpark would be John Knox, Chapters in a Life
of Paul (revised 2nd edition, Macon, Ga.: Mercer University Press, 1987).
 Another good book, though not really easy to read and strongly oriented
towards Pauline theology is C. K. Barrett, Paul: An Introduction to his
Thought (London: Geoffrey Chapman; Louisville: Westminster / John Knox
Press, 1994).

For my Introduction to the NT class I use:
Raymond E. Brown, An Introduction to the New Testament (ABRL; New
York: Doubleday, 1997).  This book has massive and comprehensive English
bibliographies on Paul and each letter.  It has very conservative ideas about
Pauline chronology but otherwise gives good summaries of "basic information"
about each letter.  It raises important interpretive issues at the end of
each chapter.  This might be too challenging for many undergraduates, although
I have used it with a lot of success with seminarians and other first year
theological students.  If students can't make their way through Brown at
Level I, then they're going to have problems when they get to my Level II
and Level III classes.  I refer students to the bibliographies in Brown for
all my other NT classes.

I hope this may be helpful.

Frank W. Hughes
Codrington College
Barbados