Ideal Overview
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This book nicely summarizes the history of the discovery of the fragmented documents at Qumran, the various developments and analysis made since then and also provides much historical background. Its pretty dry, though written for the layman, and I found it a little tedious, but as a starting point for someone just looking into the subject it does a good job of introducing key elements, plus as a recent publication has much of the most recent data and theories: I'd not realised it was such a highly charged field! As a balanced, non-religious overview, I recommend it highly (along with a cup of strong coffee for the more bewildering history sections).
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Excellent summary of theories so far
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A comprehensive look at the discovery and early politics surrounding the management of the Dead Sea Scrolls is followed by a very well written history of the Jewish world in the first two centuries BCE. The author then looks at all the theories about the Scrolls, noting and talking about each. Also the implications on Christianity are discussed in a calm and raional manner rather than the media-orientated shock-tactics of some other authors! This is an excellent book to 'get into' the Dead Sea Scrolls, but also an excellent book if you've been following the stories but want a good summary of the theories and facts so far.
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